Soul Eater: New Vegas
by vivalarapture
Summary: Soul Eater in the Fallout universe. Extremely easy to understand, even if you've never played Fallout! A bullet to the head leaves one young woman with amnesia. The scrawny blond with green eyes is dubbed Girl. Falling for a snarky sniper named Soul was never a part of her plan, but nothing in Girls existence seems to be normal. Her "new" life will test her in every way possible.
1. The Light

**Soul Eater, New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Disclaimer- I do not own Soul Eater or Fallout: New Vegas, or any other Fallout game in the series.**

**Authors Note- VERY IMPORTANT. This is going to be an experiment in and of itself. I have never written a story in first person. I figured this would be the challenge I needed to get my ass in gear. The Fallout universe is one of my favorite places I've ever had the pleasure of exploring. The story line, the creatures, the factions. It's incredible. The Soul Eater characters have captured my heart from the first episode and the first chapter. I will state this for all to read. This is the Fallout universe with Soul Eater characters. I will not follow the plot of Fallout to a T. This will be the "Soul Eater" Spin on Fallout. Both the Fallout character and the Soul Eater characters will be similar in all their traits. I feel like a lot of the characters mesh well, and have a lot of great little quirks that are synonymous with both Fallout and Soul Eater. I'm excited to see how people take it and figure out who is who! If you've played Fallout, you can guess the Soul Eater characters counterpart from Fallout, and hope you like how I've done this! If you haven't played Fallout, (WHICH I HIGHLY SUGGEST YOU DO. SQUEEEE.) I hope you will be happy with the new universe for the Soul Eater characters to flounder about in. As I stated previously, I really hope everyone enjoys this! And no, my authors notes will never be this long again. Happy reading! **

**Shout out to my roommate, Charlie, for making this story possible. He's a closet writing thug and our combined knowledge of Fallout is enough to write our own Fallout Wiki. Thanks for helping me in exchange for Chinese food and cigarettes! **

**Btw, the image I've used for the cover is by Onagaku on Deviantart. Amazing artist. **

**Chapter One. The Light.**

That incessant buzzing noise is here again, humming in the back of my mind. Why can't I stop it? Now there's a light and I can feel my eyes twitch. Should I walk towards it? I scowl, pushing towards the bright formation interrupting my calming state. Getting closer to it is seemingly impossible. It feels like tar is sucking at my legs, pulling me down.

I am NOT going to go down. Squinting my eyes, I push even harder, trying to get to the light. For some reason, I feel like it's necessary. This illumination is going to save me from being sucked under. I fling my arms up in the air, yelling in anger, "Why can't I move?!" I can feel myself screaming, wrenching my legs out of the black goo attaching to my limbs.

Finally, I get a leg out, and grin in victory, flinging the other with the momentum I gained from freeing the first leg. The light is getting closer. I throw my hands out, trying to clench the warmth burning from the source. My legs are pounding as I rush towards it, getting closer and closer. Finally I reach it, and it doesn't feel anything like I thought it would.

It was painful.

I pulled my arm up to my head, crying out from the pain. My eyes were shoved close, the humming getting so loud it felt like it was wracking my brain.

I tried to open my eyes, but everything was blurred. There's a high pitched whine permeating through my bones. I can faintly here a voice, but nothing makes sense. I raised my head, trying to look around. I can see the outline of a man standing above me. But everything is bright.

I groaned, trying to stand, but a hand pressed down on my shoulder. What is going on? Why can't I see? I took a deep breath, willing my sight to come back. The whine is slowly fading, and I have to force myself calm to keep myself from feeling frantic.

The bright light from earlier is wrapping my senses, warping everything into a glow laden haze.

I put my face in my hands, eyes clenched shut, exhaling sharply.

Slowly, everything fades, my vision clearing, and the bright light completely dissipating and leaving me feeling empty in a now much too quiet environment.

Opening my eyes, I'm faced with a middle aged grey haired man towering over me, a large metal screw protruding from his skull, with scars like patchwork all over his face.

"What the fuck?!" I scrambled backwards, falling off of the dirty bed I had been laying on. My back thumped on the ground, but all I could focus on is the pain in my head. I grasped my hair, my fingers clenched to my cranium, rolling around to my side as I wrapped around myself.

The man stood up, shaking his head, "With an injury like that, ya shouldn' be moving around so quick-like."

I wanted to retort angrily, or glare at the man with that thick southern accent, or maybe flip him off. But I couldn't do anything but hold my head and groan in pain. I attempted to sit up, and I felt the man grabbing my arm and pulling me up.

He set a hand on my shoulder and directed me towards the other room, "Let's go sit on the couch, eh? I need to git some information outta ya." I nodded slowly, letting him guide me, as my legs were still extremely weak. I winced as I noticed the dingy looking examining table to my right, and the set of beakers and test tubes to my left.

He helped me sit on the couch, and sat across form me in a tattered orange chair. He chuckled at my eyes crossing with pain, and I mustered my best death glare. But at the amused look he gave me, I figured it must have looked more like a confused stare. "What.. What happened?" I asked, feeling the bandages wrapping around my head.

The man sighed, and lit up a cigarette, "You were shot. Whoever shot ya meant to kill ya. Patty came along just as they were puttin ya in that shallow grave. She pulled ya out an' brought ya to me. Now, may I ask who yew are since yer finally up? Yew've been out for 2 weeks."

I tilted my head downwards, staring at my hands. They were rough and worn, scars lining my palms. I flipped them over, inspecting the veins pushing towards the edge of my skin. "I..." I placed the palm on my face, running it along my eyebrows, lowered in bewilderment, my small nose, my plump curved lips, my high cheekbones. "I..."

The man sat patiently beside me, and I looked up to see him raising his eyebrows, and his eyes knowing. "I.. I don't know who I am.." The thought struck me as odd. How could I not know who I am? The man sighed again, pushing his glasses further up on his nose and itching at the bulbous metal sticking out of his head.

"Post-Traumatic Amnesia." I tipped my head, contemplating his words, but also trying to inspect the metal seemingly shoved perfectly through his hair. "What?" He took a drag from his cigarette, and looked at me again, "Post-Traumatic amnesia. Yew were shot in the head. I'm surprised I was able to keep ya alive with my sub-par equipment. I must not have been able to fix everythin'. Sometimes after a traumatic head injury, all yer left with is amnesia. Shot in the noggin an' ya can't even recall your own name. Ain't that a kick in the head."

I fingered the hair spilling over my shoulders, and noticed it was ashy yellow. I hoped something would click inside me as I sat there, pushing around inside my brain. Nothing clicked. I am a blond. I didn't feel like a blond.

I looked up, my mouth gaping, "What.. What do I even look like?"

Stein chuckled, glancing at me, "Well, yer tiny. Maybe 5'2? Yer a scrawny lookin' thang. You've got big green eyes, blond-ish hair, and a tiny little face. Ah don't recon there's much more I could tell ya that would matter. Looks aren't exactly important in the Mojave Wasteland."

I raised my eyebrows, "The Mojave Wasteland?"

He flicked a hand up and twisted the metal in his head, and I cringed at the cranking noise it made. "This could be somethin' interestin'."

I raised an eyebrow, my lips twisting into a grimace, "What do you mean?"

He stood up, heading into the next room, calling back at me to stay put. I took in my surroundings, really looking around for the first time. This place was a dump. The floors, walls, and furniture was dirty and dingy. The yellowing wall paper was peeling back, and most of the appliances were covered in rust and grime.

There was some sort of animal skull on the mantle above the fireplace. There was science equipment littering the room, a microscope next to the skull.

I shifted around on the couch, feeling more and more claustrophobic in the tiny house. "Sir? What are you doing?" The man returned, holding a charred book in his hands. He sat down on the couch next to me, and handed me the frayed book. "The name's Doc Stein, by the way. This is a book on amnesia. I figured it might help ya understand things better. Can ya read?"

I scoffed, and gently opened up the book, pawing at the fragile pages, "Of course I can read. Why is this book burned?"

Stein tipped his head, once again cranking the knob in his head, but didn't say anything. I flashed him a scowl and scanned over the words, feeling a familiar pang of joy as I soaked up information.

"Well this might be surprisin', but I should probably explain some things to ya. With yer amnesia, I'm not sure how you'll react to the situation of our... Environment, if ya will."

I looked up from the book, closing the cover and giving the doctor my full attention. He lit another cigarette, and I had a faint thought of _"Nasty chain smoker.." _Before he started.

"This is the year 2281. 204 years ago, The Great War o' 2077 took place. There was a nuclear holocaust, and most o' the world were destroyed. There were many people who took safety in Vaults, some survived by bravin' the Wasteland. Radiation had destroyed much of how life used to be. I don't know what 'normalcy' is to ya, considerin' yer amnesia, but wakin' up in an irradiated wasteland has got ta be jarrin' for anyone."

I sat still during his entire speech, taking everything in. I sat for a moment, my hands clenched at my sides. I swiveled my eyes towards the dingy window to my left, and peered through the dirt streaked glass.

I had no idea what I was expecting. He was right, to an extent. What was normalcy to me? I had no idea what my own name was. But a nuclear war? I had a faint image of what a nuclear bomb was. A far off memory torn apart and shredded by my own conscious, and I was left with bits and pieces of information.

"Radiation?" I questioned, fighting with my own mind, trying to force the knowledge from deep inside myself. He nodded, puffing on his cigarette.

"I only know about the world a'fore The Great War through charred books an' stories. But it seems things like giant Radscorpions were not always normal an' accepted. Not that ther' accepted now. Disgustin' critters."

My brain seemed to be going haywire. Words were flickering around, bouncing off the walls of my mind, fighting to be let out. But something was keeping them locked away, and it made me furious. Irradiated Wasteland? I didn't even know that meant. All I knew is that I'm alone in this world. I have no idea who I am. I don't even know my own name. I fisted a hand in my hair, growling under my breath. This is fucking _insane._

I stood up quickly, ignoring Steins flat accusations of hurting myself even more, and my own wound pulsating with the movement.

I flung myself out the door, my legs feeling more jelly-like than I'd ever admit. I cursed at my own weakness, then slightly congratulated myself for remembering what jelly was; or at least the consistency. Throwing myself outside was not the best idea I had ever had; I could barely walk. Although, to be fair, I couldn't remember any other ideas I ever had, so this wasn't necessarily the worst. That thought didn't make me feel much better.

My head ached as I ran, but I had to get away from that cramped house. He had to be lying. Radscorpion? What in the hell is that anyway? I forced my legs to go faster, slamming past the gate outside Doc Steins house, and almost tripping as I ran down the hill his house was placed on.

I passed depleted looking houses, and a few confused and dirty faces. There was a man with a burly beard sitting outside of a saloon I passed, raising an eyebrow. I didn't give him another glance, and kept running through the town. I saw mountains in the distance, and I suddenly felt calm spreading through me.

Somehow I knew the open air would help my rapid moving thoughts. I ran faster, my breath sharper and louder than I liked as my heart pulsed in time with my feet. Finally out of what I guess I should call a "town", my running slowed. I let myself smile, another small victory at the thought of remembering another seemingly lost word from my treacherous brain.

I was surrounded by dirt. It seemed to stretch for miles, only interrupted by a stray boulder, a patch of dead-looking plant, and the mountains off in the distance. The ground was littered with rocks, the entire environment looked as if it had been slammed to the side, all of its inhabitants thrown haphazardly around.

Looking up, I noticed a giant statue of a cross in the distance. It looked menacing, sitting on top of the mountain, and I figured they didn't mean for it to look so terrifying.

I placed my hands on my knees, leaning my head down to catch my breath. I closed my eyes, my brain finally ceasing it's spinning. I would be okay. I didn't anyone. I sighed, rubbing a hand through my hair and sliding down to sit on top of a rock. I have no idea who I am, but I know I'm strong. Whoever I used to be doesn't matter.

I smiled slightly, propping myself up on my thighs and standing up. I looked down and grimaced, noticing what I was wearing. I had no idea what I was wearing before the accident, but I'm guessing it wasn't the black under shorts and tank top I was now sporting.

I pulled up one of my feet to inspect the bottom of my abused skin. I hadn't realized I wasn't wearing any shoes, and my feet took the brunt of my brashness. I gingerly set a foot down, wincing as it hit the dirt.

"I guess I should head back.. There's not much else I can do.." I said out loud, walking back towards the town, careful of my injured feet and trying to ignore the buzzing in my head.

I took a few steps, and was immediately stopped in my tracks. About 10 feet away a creature was baring it's teeth at me. It was about as tall as my hips, its bulbous body naked and a dirty pink color. I froze, my eyes widening as it took a step forward, it's pincer like large front teeth aimed at me and hissing.

It barreled towards me, and I took a step back, trying to turn and run. I tripped over a rock, and tumbled onto the ground. I let out a terrified whimper as I heard it wuff angrily behind me, it's claws scuttling across the dirt as it came closer.

I flipped around and threw my hands up over my face, trying to shield myself from most of the damage I figured it could do. The creature snapped it's jaws down on my arm, and I screamed, trying to throw it off of me.

It clawed down my other arm, trying to rip the skin off my bones. I cried out, tears flowing down my face. I was going to die_. Again_. I flung my arm away, shoving the creature as hard as I could, scrambling to get up.

It was quick to react though, and scraped at my calf as I tried to stand up. I fell again, my arms tearing at the dirt hoping to get some leverage to stand and run. The creature was now busying itself with gnawing on my leg, and my face was caked with mud from the dirt and tears mixing there.

It slammed its front legs down on my back, and my head cracked on a rock. I yowled in pain, my brain already rattling and becoming fuzzy. Over the ringing in my ears, I heard a gun shot, and an angry mutter of, "Stupid fuckin' mole rats."

I tried to turn over, but my brain was already fogging, the figure in my vision blurred and hazy.

I groaned, and everything was going black. Stupid creature. Stupid town. Stupid amnesia. Stupid man shooting me. I tried to raise an arm to my head, to grasp it together so it didn't fall apart like it felt like it would. All I could do was gape at the shredded flesh and hold back vomit before everything went completely black.


	2. Goodsprings

**Soul Eater: New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Authors note- This damn first person nonsense is more of a challenge than I initially anticipated. BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT. At least that's what my roommate/beta reader Charlie keeps telling me. We're re-playing New Vegas with our "Maka" character, all stats, perks, and actions accurate to Maka's personality. On hardcore mode, might I add. It's extremely helpful; and incredibly fun! I'll post all of her stats on my bio if anyone's interested. I'm thinking of commissioning someone to draw all the Soul Eater versions of the Fallout characters. If anyone is interested in that, let me know. Pay Pal is everyone's best friend!**

**Chapter Two. Goodsprings.**

Is waking up always going to be this painful? I let out an angry groan as I tried to sit up, my head once again buzzing and making everything fuzzy. When the light finally subsided and the buzzing faded, I looked around, trying to figure out where I was.

I glared at my surroundings, the chemistry set on the desk in front of me all too familiar.

I sat up and placed my feet on the ground, the pivot apparently too quick for my brain to comprehend, and the ringing in my ears started right back up again.

I cursed rather loudly, and heard a chuckle from the next room. I raised an eyebrow, not recognizing the feminine pitch. I peered through the doorway, and a girl with a dog following behind her appeared. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and a bright smile. Her chocolate-colored, scrawny German shepherd's amber eyes seemed to light up as it scampered pass the overhead lights.

The young woman grinned at me, and put her hands on her hips, "Yer awake! Finally! Ya had us worried for a bit. Dyin' twice aint gotta be much fun." Her voice had the same twang as Stein, and it was surprisingly more comforting than his thick accent. "The name is Jackie Smiles. This here mutt is Lantern. He's the best canine this side of the Mojave."

She patted the dog's head affectionately, and she wagged her tail at her, panting happily. I smiled faintly, and stood up, swaying a little on my feet. "I wish I could introduce myself, but I don't exactly know my name."

She frowned, scratching her head, "Yeah, Doc Stein told me yew were a lil wonky in the noggin. Thass alright, we'll get ya up and attum in no time. You just need some exercise. Just.. Not by yerself this time. Ya can't be too careful with all the critters roamin' around here. That mole rat almost ended ya."

I tipped my head, "Mole rat? Is that what that ugly thing was?"

Jackie walked over to the bed, swinging a leg over the chair by the desk and plopping down, "Darn right. They aint the toughest things out in the Wasteland, but they can sure pack a punch without a pistol on yer hip. I shot it just in time. That thing was makin' a snack of ya. "

I nodded, my eyes wide, "You were the one that saved me?"

Jackie nodded, a smile stretching across her face, "Yes ma'am."

I grinned, and knew I finally found someone I could count on. "Well.. Thanks, Jackie."

She nodded, waving her hand, "My pleasure. We help each other out aroun' here. Doc Stein instilled that in all of us."

I laughed, and walked over to Lantern, rubbing behind his ear, "Where is Dr. Stein, by the way?"

Jackie tipped her head towards the hallway as she turned around, picking up a couple of needle-looking devices from the desk. "He's crammin' his brain with all those old books, tryin' ta find somethin' that'll help yer amnesia."

I nodded, glancing at the needles she was stuffing in her pack. "What are those?"

She smiled and shouldered her back, motioning for me to follow her, "These are Stimpacks, darlin'. I wanna teach ya how ta shoot, and Stein wants us ta be prepared fer anything."

"What's a Stimpack?" I questioned, and Jackie laughed, "Well ah don't exactly know the specifics, you'll have ta ask Doc Stein about that. But from what he's told me, they're a mix of steroids and some anti-biotics. Don't know, don't care. They make ya feel right as rain when you been hit by somethin', an' that's all ah care about."

I followed her out the door, the bright light temporarily blinding me. I put a hand up to shield my eyes, and tripped over a rock in the pathway. Jackie chuckled and put a hand on my shoulder to help me from falling. "Whoah there, girl."

I smiled up at her, laughing at my clumsiness, "I'll get used to my legs eventually.."

Jackie giggled and continued down the road through town. We passed the same buildings I ran by when I freaked out earlier. I tipped my head, following Jackie as we walked, Lantern trailing behind us. How long was I out the second time?

I looked down, both my calf and my arm were wrapped in gauze. I clenched my fingers into a fist, and didn't feel any pain. I lifted my leg a little higher when I walked, testing to see if it pulled on any muscles to cause pain. Nothing. I raised an eyebrow, letting my hand fall to my side as we walked.

If I kept getting knocked out like that, my whole life was going to pass me by.

Jackie stopped in front of a building labeled "Prospectors Saloon," and turned around to face me. "I'm gunna go inside for a bit, gotta pick up some ammunition fer our training. Stay outside an' have a look around, I'll be right back." I nodded, glancing around at the town, finally able to inspect everything now that I wasn't running as fast as my legs could take me.

The saloon was as dingy as all the other buildings in the town, but it had a mismatched neon sign lighting up the word, "Saloon". It looked patchwork, as if they had taken pieces from different signs and glued it together.

I shook my head, trying to avoid the curious stares of the bearded man on the patio of the saloon. I stuck my hands in my pockets, and was startled when I realized I had pockets to stuff my hands into. Someone had exchanged my black under shorts for dusty jean shorts, a little too big for me, but I wasn't complaining.

I chuckled and dusted off the shirt I was wearing. They must have assumed I'd run off like a crazy person again and didn't want me to flash the towns people.

The man on the patio, swaying in his rocking chair, tilted his chin towards me sharply. I pointed a finger at myself, mouthing, "Me?" He nodded, rubbing his beard between his fingers. I cautiously walked towards him, gingerly walking up the stairs towards the man.

"Yew. Yer that girl the pile of metal found an' Doc Stein fixed up." I stood in front of him, itching at the bandages on my arm, "Yeah, Dr. Stein fixed my head. What do you mean 'pile of metal'?"

The old man jerked his head towards a shack to the South. "That pile o' junk robot gal, Patty. She dug ya outta that hole an' brought ya back to Doc Stein."

I looked towards the shack, wondering what in the world the old man was talking about. Robot gal? I shrugged, looking towards the door as Jackie and Lantern walked out. "Easy Pete, are you harrassin' the new girl?"

'Easy Pete', as Jackie called him, stuck his nose in the air, guffawing at Jackie, "Nah, jus' try'na make small talk."

Jackie chortled, walking past him, "Yeah, yeah, ah bet. Let's go, girl. I gotta teach ya how ta defend yerself."

I nodded, waving awkwardly to Easy Pete as I trotted after Jackie. She walked around the saloon, and trudged up a hill behind the building. She pulled a rifle off of her shoulder and handed it to me. I eyed it suspiciously, and Jackie chuckled, "It's not gunna bite ya, girl."

I turned it over, inspecting it thoroughly, "I'm not sure about that.." Jackie laughed and patted me on the back, almost making me drop the gun. "Yer funny, girl! Here, Ah'll show ya."

She took the gun from me, and pressed the back of it against her shoulder. "This is the bolt handle." She said, cocking the handle on the side of the gun and looking down the barrel. "Just look through the sight an' make sure what yer try'na hit is in that area."

She squeezed the trigger and one of the bottles in front of her popped and shattered. She grinned and pressed the gun into my hands. "That's how ya do it."

I pursed my lips, and tried to hold the gun like she had. To both of our surprise, the gun felt comfortable in my hands. I looked down into the sight, and pulled the trigger, hitting right below one of the bottles on the fence.

Jackie grinned and put a hand on my shoulder, "You'll git it! Try again."

I sighed, holding the gun back again, steadying myself. I glared down the sight, determined to get it this time. If this felt so comfortable in my hands, I had to prove it.

I exhaled, cocking the gun and exhaling as I pressed the trigger. One of the bottles on the fence shattered, and I turned to the side, cocking the gun and squeezing the trigger in half a second. The second bottle popped. I grinned as I pulled the bolt handle, hitting the third bottle. Then a forth, and then a fifth.

I turned back towards Jackie, a grin plastered on my face. She was looking wide eyed at me, but started cracking up, and held onto her stomach as she bent over in laughter.

"Holy Brahmin! Maybe I should be taking lessons from you!"

I felt my face heat up, and I leaned over to pet Lantern, trying to hide my blush.

"Nah, I just got lucky.."

I tried to hand the gun back to Jackie, but she put her hands up, "That's yers now, girl. You must'a had some kinda gun trainin' before that amnesia nonsense. Yer gunna be needin that."

I shook my head, "No way! This is your gun!" Jackie smiled, and took the gun, only to slide the strap over my shoulder, "Ah got plenty. This one is yers."

I exhaled, shaking my head, "Alright, alright. Thank you, Jackie."

Jackie nodded, turning back around and heading towards the saloon, "Come on, girl. Ah'll introduce ya to Trudy."

I followed behind her again, trying and failing to avoid Easy Pete's stare. I chuckled nervously and waved, still not sure how I should greet the new people in my life. He grunted in my direction, and continued his rocking.

Walking into the saloon was a little jarring. Compared to the incredibly bright desert outside, the saloon was dimly lit and somber. There were a few people seated at the bar, and no one looked up when the door slammed behind Jackie. She sat down on a barstool, and I followed suit, Lantern laying silently at her feet.

There was an older looking woman behind the bar, stringy brown hair pulled up into a bun, cleaning a shot glass. "Ay, Jackie. Is this the girl Doc Stein patched up?"

Jackie nodded as the woman passed her a beer, "Yup. Doesn't know her name, some sort of amnesia." She drew out the syllables of the word amnesia, putting emphasis on it. The womans southern drawl wasn't as thick as the other people in the town I had met.

"Well damn. Sorry about that, girl. My name is Trudy." She extended a hand over the bar, and I shook it lightly. "Nice to meet you, Trudy."

Trudy pressed her other hand over mine, patting it, "Nice to meet you too, girl. Glad you're okay." I smiled, and took the beer she handed me, even though I had an inkling I wasn't ever a drinker.

"Thanks." I said, taking a sip of the fizzy liquid, and finding out I was right. I was not a drinker.

Jackie and Trudy laughed at me as I tried to cover up the foam that had gotten up my nose. I glared at the bottle, and Trudy took the beer, handing me another glass bottle. "Here, have a Sunset Sasparilla, girl." I took the bottle and sipped it experimentally. I nodded my head thankfully, "Much better."

Trudy chuckled, and walked over to another patron calling for alcohol. Jackie chugged back her beer, sighing happily as she slammed it down on the bar top. "So, Stein wants ya back at his place fer some testin 'er somethin'. But I don't think ya wanna be stayin' with that old coot anymore than ya haf'ta. Yew can stay with me if ya want."

I grinned, my fingers tightening around the bottle in my hands. "That'd be great. Thanks Jackie."

Jackie dug around in her pockets before pulling out a few bottle caps and setting them on the counter. "Come on. Let's go back ta the Docs."

I nodded, and Lantern rubbed herself against my leg, wagging her tail as if she knew how happy I was. We headed out of the saloon, and trodded down the road towards Dr. Steins house. As we walked, I noticed a large metal-like figure rolling along the dirt at the edge of town.

I stopped in my tracks, flinging my head towards Jackie, "What the hell is that?!" I cried, grabbing onto her arm. She chuckled and patted my shoulder, "That? That's Patty. She a robot around these parts. Been here fer.. Seven years 'er so. She's the one who saved ya. Pulled ya outta that grave."

I let go of her arm and nodded as the figure rolled off into a shack to the south. Jackie continued walking, pulling me along with her, "Ya can meet 'er soon an' thank 'er. She's always out an' about."

We walked up the hill to Dr. Steins house, and Jackie knocked on the door, "Ay, Doc. I brought the girl back."

The door opened, and a disheveled looking doctor stood in the doorway. "Howdy, girls. Ah've been researchin' some way ta help this 'un all day." I smiled as he let us in,"That's really nice of you. Thanks." He nodded, shutting the door behind us. "It's ma pleasure, little one. I found a few books ta help me."

He pointed to the couch, "Yew and Lantern can wait in here. I'll be done soon an' ya can take this'n to yer house."

Jackie nodded, busying herself with cleaning her gun and Lantern laid down at her feet again.

I followed Stein into his office-like room, and he told me to sit on the bed as he sat on the chair. "Ah found this book layin' around, and ah think it'll help. It's all about amnesia, an' ways ta determine how yer healin' up."

I nodded as he pulled out a book. "This is called the GOAT. The Galveston Orientation an' Amnesia Test. Ah'm gunna ask ya a few questions. Ah know ya don't remember much, if any at all, so just bear with me, kay?"

I nodded again, settled myself comfortably on the bed. "Shoot."

"Alright. What's yer name?"

I sighed, and replied sadly, "I don't know."

"Where were ya born?"

I furrowed my eyebrows, twisting my hands around in my lap. I dug around in my brain, trying to find some piece of information. Where was I born? I clenched my hands together. I had a faint image of water. Water? My eyes shot open, surprised my mind was allowing me some sort of memory.

"Somewhere by the water."

Stein looked up, shocked, "Do ya know that fer sure?"

I shrugged, "I think so. I can remember something about growing up around water."

Stein grinned, "Ay, that's somethin'! Next question. Where do ya live?"

I smiled, glancing towards the living room. "In Goodsprings. With Jackie, now."

Stein laughed, "Alright. Where are yew right now?"

"Goodsprings. Mojave Wasteland I think you call it? Dr. Steins house."

"When did ya get here?"

My facial features began to skew with concentration. "I'm guessing.. Three weeks ago?"

"What's the first thin' ya remember after the shootin'?

"Uhm.." I tipped my head, remembering something about a light and tar sucking at my legs. "I remember it being extremely fuzzy when I woke up, and sitting on this bed in your house."

"Alright. What's the last thing ya remember before the shootin'?"

I sighed, putting my face in my hands, "Nothing solid. I remember.." I grasped my hair, almost at the point of physically attempting to rip the memories from my brain. A dim flash flew through my mind, an image of a face full of dirt. I growled, knowing full well what it probably was, "Getting buried. Sort of. I remember dirt."

Stein chuckled, and immediately held a hand up to muffle that sound at my scowl. "We're almost done, girl. Last question, what year is this?"

I grinned, "2281. You told me that yesterday." Stein smiled, adjusting his glasses, "Yer right. So according to this, yer doin' okay. Not perfect, but could be worse. At least yer able to make new memories and what not."

He took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "You can go with Jackie now." He shooed me out, and I hurried into the living room, grabbing Jackie and pulling her towards the door. "Thanks, Doc!" We called over our shoulders as we walked towards the door.

Stein chuckled, and called out to us before we left, "Ya'll girls stick together, ya hear? Yer still young. Ya always need a friend in the Wastes."

I smiled, and Jackie ginned brightly, "Ay! Ah'm 22, Doc! An' from the looks'ah it, this'n is around the same! We ain't young."

Stein laughed outright, and yelled as we were closing the door, "Young is as young does, missy!"

Jackie giggled as she shut the door, Lantern barking happily at our heels. "Come on, girl. Let's get home before the sun sets."

I smiled softly, my heart warming. That word felt nice. Home.

**Authors Note- OMG ITS CALLED THE GOAT. AHHHH! IT'S SERIOUSLY CALLED THE GOAT. ITS A REAL THING! You have no idea how happy I was when I was researching and found out there was a real test called the GOAT that fit perfectly in the story. Fallout 3? The GOAT test in the beginning? Vault 101? Anyone? Yeah. SQUEEEE. Happy rant over.**


	3. Jackie

**Soul Eater:Soul Eater; New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Authors Note- Writing in this old time-y South-West accent makes me want to bang my head against my keyboard. My roommate/beta reader and I have even started talking in a Southern accent. Today he asked me, "Whur's dat darned remote, yuh hear? DARN TOOTIN BETTER GIMME DAT REMOTE!" He also tried to turn that last chapter in a raunchy porno. Easy Pete? I mean, seriously? Come on. We're too sexual for our own good. ON WITH THE STORYYY!**

**Chapter Three. Jackie.**

"Come on Girl, up and att'm." I opened my eyes to see Jackie standing above me, and Lantern excitedly licking my face. I giggled, and sat up to push her off.

"I'm up, I'm up." Jackie grinned, and padded out of the room, her gun already slung over her shoulder, "Git dressed an' meet me outside. I grilled up some mantis, we can eat on the way. We got some geckos to kill."

I quickly got out of bed, and pulled on the pants Jackie had given me a couple weeks ago. Dr. Stein had tried giving me a jumpsuit from the Vault he was originally from, but it's too damn hot for a jumpsuit. I had learned a lot in the three weeks I had been living with Jackie, and one thing was that over heating in the Nevada desert was a pretty big hazard.

I threw on a shirt, and sat on the bed to pull on my boots. Jackie had been letting me sleep on the extra bed in her house. Apparently her parents had passed away years ago, leaving Jackie with one of the run down houses along the South East part of town. I slipped on my second boot and stood up, stretching away my sleepiness.

It was nice here. Sure, we had to kill the creatures that came near town, and sure it was hot as hell, and sure, I still hadn't gotten used to beer and everyone made fun of me. But it was nice. Everyone in town knew me, and accepted me. Jackie and Lantern were like my family, and from what I could tell, having no memories, that was the only family I had.

I hit the top of my boots on the sandy wooden floor as I walked, making my feet more comfortable. I had actually gotten a few faint flashbacks of sorts, but nothing concrete. Nothing that would tell me my name, or who I was, or where I was from.

Whenever I would get images from my past, all the faces would be blurred. It was like my mind was messing with me. Giving me the slightest bit of environment, some garbled dialogue I could barely understand, and no faces. I shook my head, hand on the door knob. I didn't need to know about my past. I didn't care about what had happened before this. I was at home in Goodsprings, and that was all I'd ever need.

I smiled as I opened the door, Jackie chastising Lantern for some sort of problem she had caused with the local Brahmin stock. "I'm ready!" I called, shouldering my own gun. Jackie patted Lantern on the head, already forgiving the dog for whatever transgression she had committed. "Good. I guess Doc seen some geckos down by Goodsprings Source this mornin', and we gotta take care of it."

I nodded, and followed her down the path. She tossed me a grilled mantis leg which I hurriedly bit into, knowing I had to finish eating before we got to the geckos. Before I came along, it was Jackie's job to rid the town of the unsettling creatures.

Now that I was living with her, that job was mine as well. I nodded to a few towns people we passed, and they nodded back. It was a good feeling knowing that people relied on us to keep the town safe.

"Howdy, pardner!" I looked up as the sun was suddenly blocked by something. "Hey, Patty." I said, craning my neck up to stare at the robot. "How are ya?!" I chuckled, and leaned back on my heels, "I'm doing great. How are you?"

"I'm fantastic! Ain't it a beautiful mornin'?" I nodded, agreeing with her. After my first few days, I went and found Patty and thanked her for saving me that blurry night. She waved it off, telling me it was just "nice ta help outta stranger. Neighborly-ness an' all."

She was a little intimidating, to be honest. She stood a good foot and a half taller than me, her metal body ended in a wheel she rolled around on, and giant metal arms that had pincers at the end. To top it all off, the menacing robot body had the image of a cute, blond girl with a cowboy hat on the big screen on her front. It was all a little contradicting, but I owed her my life, and would always be thankful for that. Even if she was a little creepy at times.

"Well ah'll be seein' ya, darlin! Have a wonderful day!" I tipped my head, saying my goodbye as I hurried to catch up to Jackie. The water source was at the edge of town, so it took us a few minutes to get there. I wasn't afraid like my first time hunting the geckos.

The first time I was nearly eaten because I froze while it ran toward me. Jackie saved me a second time when she blew its head to bits when it was about 6 inches from my face. I shook my head at the image. It took me 6 buckets of water to wash all the blood from my hair.

I walked along beside Jackie, our feet tapping in time with each step. Everyone here kept saving me. I was tired of being saved. I held onto my gun over my shoulder, my fingers relishing the cool metal. I was going to earn my keep here.

Jackie turned around and motioned for me to be quiet and get down. I crouched immediately, weeks of hunting now muscle memory for me. Lantern growled under her breath, teeth bared, but one hand flip from Jackie and she was silent.

Jackie inched forward, and waited until the creatures were within a close range. She pulled out her gun, and pulled the trigger on the first one. She hissed when it grabbed its head in pain but kept running at her.

The creatures were bigger than the mole rat that almost ate me when I first braved the Wasteland. When they ran at you, the skin on the side of their faces rose, fanning out behind them. The bastards stood up on their hind legs and barreled towards you, arms hanging at their sides.

I stood up, steadying myself and aiming for its head. It fell to the ground when I squeezed the trigger, head rolling off its shoulders and onto the dirt.

Jackie grinned at me, "Yer gettin damn good at this, Girl." I nodded happily before 6 more geckos ran around the corner of the cliff face. Jackie cursed, and Lantern bolted from our side to attack one of the beasts. I aimed my gun, careful to avoid the dog ripping a gecko to shreds, and pulled the trigger.

One down. Five to go.

Jackie stayed crouched, and shot another one in the stomach. Jackie always told me crouching was the best way to aim correctly, but it just didn't feel right for me to be down so low where the creatures almost towered over me.

She quickly stood up, though, and moved backwards a few paces as two of the geckos broke out of the pack and came towards us. That was another reason I always stood when hunting geckos; those fuckers were fast.

Jackie let out a string of curses as it neared her, but shot it through the mouth, ripping its head sideways and dropping it to the ground. She let herself smile a little, and I cocked my gun, shooting at the other one coming our way.

Three down. Three to go.

I heard Lantern howl, and I flipped my head around, only to see her rip an arm off the gecko in front of her, crunching down on the bones. She spat out the arm and proceeded to sink her jaws into it's belly, eliciting a strangled squeal from the creature.

Four down. Two to go.

I was nearly knocked down by Jackie bumping into me, her drawl of, "Sorry!" was drowned out by a shrieking gecko not 2 feet from us. We both jumped backwards and fired at the same time, both hitting vital organs. My bullet in the head, hers in the gut. I always figured myself more of a head shot kind of girl. I didn't have time to contemplate the irony of that as another gecko ran towards us, arms wiggling at its side in what I thought looked kind of like a mock dance.

Jackie chuckled, and I figured she was thinking the same thing as I was. A dancing gecko? We had to enjoy this a little more. I hopped out of its way, causing the thing to scream with rage and try to fling itself back towards us.

I giggled, a little bit more menacingly than I intended, and jumped out of the way once more. Jackie almost burst out laughing as it headed back towards us, arms flinging around haphazardly, mouth open, teeth bared, and feet scuttling along the ground, flinging up clouds of dirt as it ran.

After taking out another gecko, Lantern trotted over to us, watching with a tipped head as we played Keep Away with the creature. Lantern barked, and started to run circles around it. The gecko was infuriated, or as infuriated as a mutated reptile could get, and gave up trying to bite us and turned to attack Lantern.

Jackie raised her gun as Lantern bared her teeth and stood her ground. She squeezed the trigger, popping the geckos head off when it got a little too close to her dog. "Well that's enough o' that. Was pretty fun though, eh? Never knew geckos could dance."

I pulled my canteen out of my pack, taking a swig and wiping a hand over my mouth, "It was a better dancer than Easy Pete, that's for sure."

Jackie laughed, and patted Lantern on the head, congratulating her on a job well done. "That's for sure. Although with that old hip and a few shots of vodka in him, he's pretty funny to watch too."

I nodded, and we headed back towards the town, sharing jokes the whole way back.

"Wanna head ta the saloon fer a few beers? Well, ah'll have a few beers, yew can enjoy a couple Sunset Sasparilla's." I smacked her lightly on her arm, grumbling under my breath. It wasn't my fault I wasn't a drinker. A week ago they tried to force me to take a shot of whiskey and I nearly died.

"Sure. I heard Trudy's got some news about Primm." Jackie nodded, suddenly somber. The town to the South of Goodsprings was having troubles with these escaped convicts who took to calling themselves the Powder Gangers.

The NCR had brought them from California to build the rail roads, and apparently giving prisoners explosives turned out to be a bad idea. They had taken over the town, and were killing everyone they could find.

We walked into the saloon, waving to the regulars as we took a seat at the bar. Trudy walked up, already prepared with a beer and a Sunset Sasparilla. She handed them to us, questioning our recent gecko fight.

Jackie pumped her fist in the air, and threw the other around my shoulder, "It was a piece o' cake! There was a dancin' gecko that Girl tried ta engage in a waltz. But that feller just wanted to boogie solo."

I laughed, and Trudy gave us a confused look, shaking her head. Everyone in town had realized to just go along with most of what we said. I sipped my drink, absentmindedly scratching Lantern behind the ear. She thumped her hind leg on the ground, wuffing happily. I smiled, and looked back up to Trudy.

"So any more news about Primm?" Trudy grimaced and nodded grimly, "Indeed, Girl. And it doesn't look so good for 'em." I sighed, taking another drink, "What's going on down there?"

Trudy shrugged, wiping down the bar with a dingy old rag, "The Powder Gangers have taken over almost the entire town. The NCR has moved in to try to get them out, but we all know how well that's going to work.."

Jackie and I both nodded sadly. I didn't know much about the NCR, or the New California Republic, only what people around town had said about them. Trudy said they were a bunch of soldiers from California come to take Nevada as their own. They kept the roads clear, but at what cost? Easy Pete didn't like them one bit, but Jackie was undecided.

She said she appreciated the easy trade routes that kept people coming to Goodsprings, but they only protected their own. Protecting the Mojave Wasteland just kind of went along with their bigger mission. Jackie told me about how they had taken control of Hoover Dam, getting it in working order again to provide people with electricity and clean water.

That conversation had led to many talks about the Legion. Everyone knew even less about them. A bunch of people from across the river in Colorado that called themselves Asura's Legion. Trudy said they were nasty bastards that kept slaves and liked to nail people up on crosses to die.

A deep, cold shiver always went through me when they talked about Asura's Legion. Some sort of innate fear and anger always swept through me. I almost felt like Lantern in front of a radscorpion when the words Asura or Legion was mentioned in conversation. My hackles would raise, and I felt like baring my teeth.

Jackie shook her head, pouring a little beer on the floor, "Here's ta all our fellow Wastelanders, slaughtered by escaped convicts and to the ones holed up an' fightin' fer their lives."

Trudy smacked Jackie over the head with the rag, "Don't you be wastin' that good beer and dirtyin' up my saloon!" Jackie chuckled, and rubbed her head, "Sorry, Trudy. But yew know it's true."

Trudy continued to grumble and clean her counters, and Jackie laughed again.

We ordered iguana on a stick, and shared two between us and Lantern. After a few hours in the saloon, Jackie got up and stretched, kinks forming in our backs from sitting for so long. "Let's go outside, yeah? It's clammy in here." We waved goodbye to Trudy after tossing a couple bottle caps on the counter.

One of the first things Jackie had taught me about the Mojave was that bottle caps were the currency. I couldn't explain why, but it worked for everyone, so I didn't question it. When we walked outside, the light temporarily blinding me after being in the saloon for so long.

Lantern trotted beside me, panting happily. It was unusually hot today, and everyone was feeling the heat. Jackie had exchanged her usual jeans for a pair of shorts, and she left her second pistol at home, complaining that it would make her sweat too much in the waistband of her pants.

I had asked Jackie if it was always this hot, and she replied with, "No, thank the fuckin' Lord." We were all excited for winter, when the weather would ease up and we could all walk around without fear of drying up like a prune.

Beside me, I heard Lantern growl. I raised an eyebrow at her, trying to calm her down with a pat to the head, "Lantern, what's going on?" Jackie turned around and gave the dog the same look, "What is it?" She asked, kneeling down to scratch her behind the ears.

Lantern simply shrugged her hand off, and bared her teeth even farther. She took off down the path, veering off the road into the desert. Jackie cursed and ran after her, and I stood for a moment, frozen. Jackie said to never go off the roads. There were varmints that didn't take kindly to getting shot, she said. I shook my head, and ran after them, trying to ignore my conflicting brain.

"LANTERN! YOU STUPID MUTT! GET BACK HERE!" Jackie called, running as fast as she could after the dog. I was almost out of breath by the time I caught up with Jackie, and neither of us were close to Lantern. She cursed again and again, and I was actually mildly surprised by some of the cuss words that flew from her mouth.

"Stupid fucking dog. I love that damn bitch, but why the fuck does she have ta run off the roads?! She knows what lurks this way!"

Lantern came back into view after a few seconds, growling louder than I'd ever heard her before. I noticed Jackie's eyes widen, and she shoved me behind a boulder. I was about to yell at her when she slammed a hand down on my mouth, her lips set in a grim line. "You sit yer ass down and don't move. Stay quiet, and do. Not. Move. No matter what, yew got me?" She whispered harshly, but I nodded, not understanding what she meant.

I heard Lantern start to bark furiously, and Jackie cursed again, peaking her head out from behind the boulder. She hissed, and slid down the rock a bit before she got a firmer grip on her gun and looked at me with a fierce expression. "You do as I say, okay, Girl?" I nodded dumbly, clutching my gun tighter as Lantern's barks became more angry.

She hugged me tight and patted my cheek, "Stay put. And be quiet. Ah'll be right back."

I nodded again, and watched as she positioned her gun and rushed out from behind the boulder.

Lanterns barks and growls suddenly turned into howls and whimpers as a louder growl ripped through the air. I squeaked and pressed a hand to my mouth. A gun shot rang out, and then the only sounds I could hear were the sound of flesh being ripped apart. I choked down a scream as tears poured down my face.

What the fuck was she fighting?

I heard Lantern squeal, and I almost ran from behind the boulder. Jackie's words rang in my ears, keeping my shaking limbs pinned to the ground. _"I'll be right back." _

Another otherworldly roar pierced my eardrums, followed by a gun shot, and a choked cry. I had to bite down on my fingers to keep from screaming. I no longer heard Lantern or any gun shots. Jackie was a quick shot, she could kill a gecko faster than anyone I knew.

Listening carefully for any noise that told me they were safe, the sound of flesh being ripped apart found my ears. Instantly, a spray of blood came from over the top of the boulder and landed onto my leg. I scrambled to wipe the liquid from my jeans. It squished into my boots, and coated my fingers. A whimper escaped my clenched lips, and then all was silent.

I was breathing heavily, but I couldn't be heard. I promised Jackie. I promised.

I heard a crunch, and then the sound of something being dragged across the dirt. I squeezed my eyes shut, and tried to stand. I couldn't just sit here like a helpless baby. Jackie had taught me better than that. I would fight. That was what being a Wastelander was all about.

I unclenched my legs and stood, ready to turn and fight. A small cry came from behind the rock that stopped me in my tracks.

"Don't yew dare move from that spot!" Jackie cried out, her voice hoarse, and then another rip of skin and was silent. I bit down on my fingers hard enough to draw blood, but didn't move. I listened to the dragging for what seemed like forever.

I finally peered my head past the boulder and gaped at the carnage before me. There was a creature about 50 feet away, dragging a body behind it. I whimpered, and dropped to my knees.

Whatever that thing was, it was enormous. Bigger than any radscorpion, gecko or mole rat I had ever seen. It stood taller than Patty even. It was muscular, it's tendons rippling under light brown skin. Its tail whipped around as it walked, huge talon covered feet scraped along the dirt, one of it's huge hands swinging by its side, claws bigger than my forearm. Monstrous black horns spiraled from its head, twisting and curling upwards.

I looked down at the blood soaked dirt, and instantly puked up everything in my stomach that had yet to be digested. Shards of skin were strewn about, fur caked with blood lined the ground, and in the middle of the battle ground, Lantern lay torn to bits, almost unrecognizable.

I gagged again, but dry heaved for a good 10 minutes before I could breath again. I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. I fell onto my face, not bothering to throw my arms out to catch myself. I let out a scream, and sobbed until I couldn't feel my face anymore.

My family was gone. _Again. _

I lay on the ground for longer than I could remember. When I finally had the strength to look up, the sun was hovering over the mountains, threatening to set any minute. I picked myself up, all emotions gone. I was numb. I carried myself over to the body of Lantern, and clicked her collar open, accidentally coating my hand in blood, but taking the collar with me, clenched so hard in my hand I nearly cut off all circulation.

I walked back towards Goodsprings, my feet moving of their own accord. As I approached town, I still couldn't feel anything. As I grasped the handle of Jackie's door, anger was seeping into every pore in my body. My eye sight was tinged with red as I packed my sparse things into my pack and walked back out the door.

I grasped the collar tighter as I saw a lone person standing outside, the figure cast in shadow with the setting sun. I walked right past, and only stopped when a hand was pressed tightly to my shoulder, "What happened?" I looked up into the misty grey eyes of Dr. Stein. "She's dead."

Stein choked, his grip on my shoulder faltering, "What?" I stomped my foot, the anger finally spewing forth, "She's fucking dead! Jackie is fucking dead! Lantern is fucking dead! They're fucking dead!" Stein put a hand to his mouth, but I didn't care. "How?"

I scowled into the night sky, still furious, "A fucking creature. I don't know what the fuck it was. Huge. Giant claws. Horns like the devil. Long tail." Stein sighed, shaking his head, "Death Claw.."

I wrenched my shoulder away from his hand, "Death Claw, huh? Well I'm going to fucking kill them all. I'm going to fucking kill everything that threatens the people I love. Threatened. Loved. I don't fucking know, okay?! I'm just... I'm just... So fucking angry!"

Stein tried to put his hand on me again, but I pulled away, "What do you know about the man that shot me?"

Stein sighed, his eyes flashing with remorse, "Patty said he was wearin' a checkered suit. He had spikey blond hair and piercin's all over his face. He was with two Great Khans."

I clenched my fist tighter. I didn't know what a Great Khan was, but at least I finally had a description of the man who shot me. The man who took away my first life, and subsequently destroyed my second.

"Were they in town?"

Stein nodded, his entire body rigid, "Yeah. They were in the saloon the night before yew were shot."

"Did they say where they were going?"

Stein looked up at me, face contorted with something I couldn't recognize, "Girl.. Yew don't wanna go there."

"Where. Did. They. Say. They. Were. Going." It wasn't a request anymore.

"New Vegas. The Strip. Way, way up North."

I nodded, staring at the ground.

"How do I get to Primm? Those fucking Powder Gangers are threatening Goodsprings and I wont let any more good Wastelanders die because of that evil."

Stein pressed his fingers on the bridge of his nose again, a sign he was getting stressed, "Head South East outta town and take the highway South. There's a big roller coaster in the middle o' town, ya can't miss it."

I nodded curtly, pushing past him. "Then I'll take a trip to Primm before I kill the man who shot me. Thanks. For everything. But I have to leave. I'm never letting innocent people get hurt again. Not on my watch anyway."

Stein shook his head as he watched me go, calling out, "Be careful, Girl. I know I can't stop a hot headed gal like ya anyway. Just.. Come back if ya ever need anythin'."

I didn't answer him. He knew I always would. Goodsprings was my first home. My first family. My first everything in this fucked up world.

**Authors Note- It was awful killing off Jackie and Lantern. :( IM SO SADDDD .**


	4. Primm

**Soul Eater: New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Authors Note- Yeah.. Not much to say here. My fingers are still bleeding from that last chapter, though. I'm never attempting over 4,000 words in one night ever again. Ever. Again. **

**Chapter 4. Primm.**

The walk to Primm was more mentally exhausting than anything else. The anger fueling my steps had seeped away, leaving me feeling tired and lethargic. My gun weighed heavily on my shoulder, and my boots felt 10 times thicker than they had this morning.

It was dark, and I could barely see the road in front of me. I sighed, shifting my gun to my other shoulder. I heard a rustle of feet to my left, and I stopped dead, cocking my gun and pointing it around madly. The adrenaline from earlier was back with a vengeance.

Whatever was out here hunting me was going to die.

I glared down the sight, attempting to breathe at a calm pace. I heard more footsteps, and then scrambled curses. A bullet whizzed past my shoulder, and I ducked, shooting in the direction it had come from. I heard a satisfying thump, and a wail of pain as my bullet struck someone. More bullets were shot towards me, and I strained my eyes to see who it was trying to kill me.

Three men in blue jackets. One of them had a black bullet proof vest on, and I grimaced when I made out the letters, "NCRCF" On the front of one of their jackets; Powder Gangers.

I noticed a billboard to my right, and dove behind it, taking cover as a spray of bullets rained down on me. One of the bullets grazed my ankle, and I slapped a hand down over the wound to stop the bleeding. I poked my head out to the side of the sign, quickly shooting off three rounds.

I heard one of the men curse loudly, while another thumped to the ground. I let myself grin a little at my increasing skill with quick shooting before ripping open my pack. I had never had to use a Stimpack before, but Jackie had assured me they were a necessary item in the Wasteland. I eyed the syringe suspiciously before ripping off the cap with my teeth and plunging it into my calf.

It hurt for a moment, but after a few seconds, a hot sensation ran up my legs, making my heart pound faster. I stood, and wiggled my ankle around, carefully listening for any of the Powder Gangers to get closer. I knew I only had about 30 seconds before they were behind my safety zone.

I ducked as another bullet threatened to impail itself in my chest, and maneuvered slightly to the left, shooting the man in the shoulder. I mentally chastised myself for missing a target so close, but didn't have any more time to dwell on it before the other man ran behind the billboard.

I twisted my wrist, pulling the trigger and bolt handle as many times as I could before my gun was depleted of ammunition.

Three dead bodies lay scattered around the dirt, littered with bullet holes. I sighed in relief, wanting nothing more than to curl up behind the sign and sleep. I was safe, but for how long? I wasn't even to Primm yet and was already fighting for my life.

I re-loaded my gun and then shouldered it, spitting at their bodies. I didn't care how hard I had to fight. No one would threaten my town ever again.

I walked back onto the road, careful to avoid broken down cars that blocked my path. Walking farther down the broken highway, I noticed the road was broken and dipped down into a crevice. I tipped my head, but kept walking, cautious of my footing, into the dent in the earth. It was only about 10 feet long, the road continued just fine on the other side.

In the middle was a massive pile of green goos, deflated tires floating around in the mess. I flared my nostrils, immediately disgusted by the smell wafting from the mess of melted rubber and the mysterious acid.

As soon as I walked into the bottom of the indent, my entire body felt like it was vibrating. A fuzzy feeling was settling itself in my veins, and my thoughts became skewed and unfocused. I threw myself forward, desperate to rid myself of this feeling. As soon as I left the crevice and was safely back on the road, I heaved a sigh of relief.

I had no idea what that shit was, but I had no intentions of going back to find out.

The scrambling of tiny claws on dirt was almost familiar, like I was back in Goodsprings, killing critters with Jackie. The gecko was smaller than most I had seen, but size didn't matter to me. It was a creature trying to kill me, and I was going to kill it first. It was almost too easy to pop its little head off. Even the 3 other small geckos were no trouble for me.

I had time to reflect on the fact that I was getting eerily efficient at slaughtering. Almost a month of gun training shouldn't be enough to turn someone into a gun slinging champ. I shrugged, putting it off to my lost memories. Maybe I was decent before I was shot in the head. It just took me a while to hone those skills.

"Who cares.." I mused out loud, my feet padding along the worn road.

I could see the roller coaster well by now. It was definitely huge, and in the middle of town. The road led to a makeshift camp, and I could see the flag hanging on a lamp post near the camp. The two headed bear was a dead give away for the NCR.

I guess they were here trying to help after all. I continued down the road towards the camp. Maybe the soldiers could tell me what was going on.

"What in the hell do you think you're doing here? This place is off limits. " A voice snarled at me to my left, and I turned my head to see a soldier running towards me.

"Why is this off limits?"

The soldier stopped in front of me, glaring behind his goggles, "There are Powder Gangers in there. The NCR is taking care of it." I laughed, slapping my knee, "Taking care of it, huh? Then why are you sitting out here not doing anything?"

The soldier crossed his arms, taking a more steady stance, "There are tons of them in there. What do you expect us to do? Just charge in there and get turned into Swiss cheese?"

I rolled my eyes, walking past him, "Well, if the NCR was as great as you keep telling everyone you are, maybe you wouldn't be turned into Swiss cheese."

The soldier ran after me, flinging an arm around to grab me. I pulled away from his grasp, huffing angrily.

"I'm just trying to protect you! It's dangerous in there. What do you want?" He asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

I brushed my hands on my pants, and kept walking, nearing the patch work wall around the camp, "My name is Girl. I'm here to kill the Powder Gangers." The soldier stopped in his tracks, then burst out laughing, "Your name is Girl? And... YOU'RE here to kill the Powder Gangers?"

I walked into the camp, ignoring the soldiers staring at me. "Who's running this show?" I demanded, intently staring at the man. The soldier shook his head, obviously tired of arguing with me, and pointed to the tent in front of me.

"Lieutenant Barrett is in there. You're insane, but good luck I guess. S'not my fault if you get your ass killed."

I didn't bother answering him, simply opened the flap to the tent, revealing a huge man dressed in the dark tan NCR uniform. I gaped slightly, raising my head up to look him in the eye. He turned towards me, raising an eyebrow, "Who the hell are you?"

I shut my jaw, shaking my head, "Uh, my name is Girl. I'm here to help with your Powder Ganger situation." The man literally had a booming laugh. It left my ears ringing when he finally stopped. He sat down so I didn't have to crane my neck up to stare at him. His skin was dark brown, and almost had a blue tint to it, as weird as that may sound.

"You? Girl, is it? And why do you think a tiny thing like you would be able to do anything but be target practice for those convicts?"

I glared, whipping out my gun and crossing the room to press the barrel against his stomach in less than half a second.

He flinched, reaching for the pistol at his hip, but I moved the gun away, slinging it on my shoulder. I smiled triumphantly, putting my hands on my hips, "I'm fast. I know how to shoot. And I have a vendetta against those fuckers."

Lt. Barrett chuckled after he shook off his adrenaline, "Ok, Girl. Do whatever the hell you want. I'll let you go in there, but I don't expect you to come out."

I shrugged, still grinning, "I don't care what you expect. I'll change that." The lieutenant stood up, pressing two Stimpacks into my hands, "Since there's nothing much we can do from here, you should take these. Good luck, Girl."

I shoved the syringes in my pack, and turned back to the man, "Thanks, Lt. Barrett. I'll see you on the other side?"

He chuckled and patted me on the back, his huge dark hands almost throwing me to the ground. "I swear on my title as Lt. Sid Barrett, if you come back out of the town I will eat my hat."

I pulled open the edge of the tent, throwing him a look over my shoulder, "Get ready to salt that shit up, because I'll be back."

I only heard booming laughter as I walked outside, heading towards the bridge into town. Most of the soldiers simply stared again, gawking at me from their posts. One called out, "Watch out for the frags!" I looked back at him, eyes wide, "Frag?"

As soon as the word left my mouth, he threw a piece of wood about 15 feet in front of me, and I was thrown backwards by an explosion.

I sat up, rubbing my throbbing backside, "What the fuck was that?!" The soldier was rolling around on the ground, holding his sides in laughter. I scowled, stomping a little less furiously to avoid the explosions the stupid soldier called "Frags".

I stepped carefully as I walked across the bridge, keeping an eye out on the ground. There was a soldier crouching behind a broken down truck, his sniper rifle poised to shoot. I scratched my head for a moment, wondering where I knew the name of a sniper rifle. I had never seen one in Goodsprings.

I almost fell backwards when a flashback hit me, blacking everything out and making my body heavy.

_"asdfghkl, get down!" All the names were jumbled, and it seemed I was watching from a third person stand point. A man with bright red hair, but a face I couldn't make out was crouched behind a hill, pushing a hand on my shoulder. "But why?" I heard myself ask, a pair of emerald eyes adorning the face I guessed was mine. _

_"I will take care of this. Just stay down." I sat down beside him, gazing up at the man holding the huge gun above me. He had told me it was a sniper rifle. A gun that could kill a man from over 100 feet away. It was his pride enjoy, besides me. Besides me? I watched the scene flash by, wondering why those words went through my mind. _

_A crash rang out, and I heard myself clap, grabbing onto the mans leg, "Good job! You got him!"_

_The man looked down at me, and even though his face was blurred, I could tell he was smiling, "I always hit my target. You know that, asdfghjkl."_

_"Yes you do! You're the best in-"_

My head flung upwards, my face feeling cold and drained of all blood. The soldiers was looking at me incredulously, his head twisted around to stare at me. I shook my head, ignoring the familiar whine buzzing through my brain.

"So what's the situation?"

The soldier didn't say anything for a moment, but eventually rumbled out, "The citizens are holed out in the Vikki and Vance Casino. The Powder Gangers are hiding out in the Bison Steve Hotel and on the roller coaster."

I nodded, looking around. There was no one in sight, so I took a deep breath and started walking forward. The soldier gasped, and choked out, "What the hell are you doing?!"

I kept walking, but answered, "Why does everyone keep asking me that? I'm going to kill them."

The soldier sputtered to himself, but kept a firm grip on his gun, "I-I'll watch your six."

I nodded, waving a hand back at him, keeping my gun up to my shoulder, looking at the world through the sight. A bullet flew past my head, scraping my face. I winced, ducking and rolling to the side, hiding behind the wall of a house. More bullets screamed past, hitting the wooden wall of the house, flinging splinters up to my face.

I hissed, covering my head and going around the other side of the house to try and figure out how many people were trying to kill me.

Eyeing my surroundings, I watched four men skulking around about 10 feet in front of me, holding simple pistols. I grinned, clenching my rifle. I pulled the trigger and watched one of the men fly backwards, clenching his chest. I jumped back behind the house, cursing. My shots were no match for bullet proof vests.

I needed to remember to buy some armor piercing bullets. Jackie was going to take me to the 188 Trading Post in a week, but I would have to go alone. My knuckles were turning white as I gripped the butt of the gun.

Fury fueled my heart once again. Jackie would always be my drive to keep going.

There was another house about 8 feet away across the street, and I knew I only had a few seconds to shoot before I would need more cover. I dove into the street, tucking and rolling out from behind the house, firing a shot every time I was in the upright position. I grabbed onto the side of the other house to fling myself behind it since I was losing momentum.

I was breathing heavily, my chest heaving when I poked my head back out to see if the men were still there. Four bodies lay on the ground, each in a different array of shredded.

I sighed, putting a hand to my heart. I may be a good shot, but I'm only one person. I looked into my bag and cursed when I realized how little ammo I had. I pulled open the door to the building I was hiding behind, hoping no one was lurking inside. It looked empty from what I could see, and I slowly walked inside.

It was dirty like all the other buildings I had ever seen, but it was also filled with electrical supplies. There was a counter running along the front of the office with a pile of junk on top. I only wanted to see if there was any extra ammo inside, but this robotic piece of junk was drawing me into it.

It was circular in shape, with a metal grate-looking face, and two thick antennae pointing straight back on the top.

I poked it lightly, jumping backwards as if expecting it to come alive and vaporize me. It didn't move. I poked around a little more, moving it to the side and inspecting inside of it. There was an inscription on the side which read, "O-X".

"OX?" I said experimentally, continuing to fiddle around with wires, knobs and cords.

I starting exploring around the office-like building, looking for something I couldn't exactly place. I had no idea how I knew what it took to get this OX robot up and running, but living with amnesia kind of taught me to deal with knowing things I had no recollection of.

I dug out some of the cords inside OX and replaced them with some I found in a dusty corner. I found a plug on the counter, and blew off the dust before plugging it into a cord I wasn't even sure was supposed to be there.

I found some scrap metal on the floor, and picked some pieces out before digging it inside the contraption. I pulled up the OX, and looked into the face grate before flicking on a switch and staring patiently.

I heard a slight hum, and felt myself grin from ear to ear. The feeling of fixing something that was previously left to the trash was an amazing feeling.

The antenna twitched before a little green light flickered on. I punched my fist into the air, and let out a quiet, "Yes!" As I watched it hover in the air. it beeped at me, and I waved, "Hi OX!" It beeped again, before hovering closer and it looked almost like it was inspecting me.

I smiled brightly, my curiosity sated, and threw a few boxes of 5.56mm I had found in the office into my pack. I turned back towards the door and heard the humming followed me. I turned around and noticed OX was following me.

I giggled, opening up the door, "Well, you want to come with me, eh? I don't know how well a robot is going to do with bullets, but you're welcome to come." OX beeped a few times before following me out the door.

There were two Powder Gangers walking down the road, and I gasped, running behind the building again. I hissed at OX to get out of the way, but it simply beeped and hummed louder. The Powder Gangers noticed us, turning their hunting rifles towards the robot.

Before either of them could take a shot, OX let out a spray of red lights, stopping the men in their tracks. A loud, "PEW PEW PEW!" filled my ears, and the men fell to the ground with steaming holes boring through their bodies.

I looked up as OX made his way back to my side. I burst out laughing, patting the robot on the top of its metal head. "You're going to be of some use, buddy. I'm glad I fixed you up." My reply was an almost contented humming and a solitary beep. I guess two heads are better than one.

Or in our case, one incomplete brain in a bullet ridden head and a robot with spare parts.

**Authors Note- My beta reader/roommate did not go over this yet, so fair warning. He was passed out when I got home, and I needed to get this posted before tomorrow. My brain sometimes moves faster than my fingers. Cx I tried to make this grammatically correct and cohesive, so I hope it's not too wonky. Saturday the checked out version will be up, so never fear if this is shit! I don't know how I worked before without this kid.. But don't tell him I said that. **


	5. Rage

**Soul Eater: New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture **

**Authors Note- I love the Ox/ED-E comparison. I. Love. It. So. Much. Ox even looks a bit like ED-E. Those antennae?! So much yes. I don't even care if anyone ever reviews this. I'm having so much fun. (Okay that's half a lie, I am having a ton of fun writing this, but the whole no reviews thing is crushing my soul. MY SOUL.)**

**Chapter 5. Rage.**

Walking up to the Bison Steve hotel was a lot less terrifying knowing I had OX by my side. The floating pile of junk was kind of a comfort. Especially since I found out he had lasers hidden in all that rust.

I inhaled sharply as I stared at the double doors to the hotel. Apparently the Powder Gangers were holed up in there, and I didn't know if I was ready for so many enemies. OX beeped beside me, and hovered over one of the bodies of the Powder Gangers I shot earlier.

I grimaced, but walked over, crouching over the body. It wasn't very easy to look at, but I figured if I killed him, I should be able to deal with it. I noticed a revolver tucked into his jeans, and another about a foot away on the ground. His hand was clenched tightly, as if the gun was still there. I gingerly pulled the gun out of his pants, tucking it into my own.

I reached forward, grabbing the other gun and standing up, turning it over in my hands. It didn't exactly feel wrong to be taking this mans gun. He was dead after all. I shrugged, and dug around for any extra ammo.

I turned to another dead body on the ground, and shifted him over so I could take the hunting rifle that was hanging off him. I shouldered the rifle, setting it next to my other gun on my back.

I nodded, and walked back over to the doors. I had 4 guns, enough Stimpacks to cheat death, and a laser wielding robot. I think I'll be just fine.

I opened up the door as quietly as possible, and tiptoed into the door, eyeing everything suspiciously.

"Hey!" I flung my head to the side, pulling out my revolver and aiming it towards the noise. A man entered donned in blue, firing a rifle at me. I ducked behind a table, and a pulled out the other gun, ready to shoot.

OX beat me to it, firing lasers even as the Powder Ganger shot bullets at him. I peeked my head over the table, and watched OX hover into the next room, lasers pulsating. I stood up, trailing him through the lobby.

My eyes flickered as I scanned through all the nooks and crannies of the entry room. There were six men, from what I saw. Two of which had bulletproof vests strapped on.

I stared down the sight of my rifle. One of the men's heads fell into my rifle's view, about 20 feet away. Steadily exhaling, I pulled the trigger. The body's head seemed to transform into a red mist as the round broke through his skull.

OX buzzed through the room, burning holes into another man's arm. The man let out a squeal, dropping his pistol. As he reached for his firearm with his functional arm, a few bright flashes of red blinded me for a moment. My vision quickly came back to me as I saw this man fall to the ground, screaming, with two sizzling shoulders where arms had once resided.

I rapidly threw my rifle over my shoulder and reached for one of the revolvers attached to my hip. I smashed the bullets into the cylinder of the revolver. I clapped the cylinder shut against my leg, and readied it for fire.

Raising my arms to shoot, I had realized OX had already killed two more of the men. "Holy Brahmin!" an almost too familiar voice shouted. My heart stopped. Adrenaline broke through my veins. I immediately searched through the room, looking for an impossible face to appear. Holy Brahmin? Am I going insane? Is it possible that-

My thoughts were instantly interrupted as a sharp pain flashed through my bicep. I let out a cry as I grabbed my arm. I dove behind an overturned table riddled with bullet holes. Opening my pack, I ripped out a sheet of gauss and wrapped it tight around the flesh wound from a bullet grazing my arm.

There's no time for thoughts. I jumped up from behind the table, filled with a familiar adrenaline, and looked down the sight of my revolver. There wasn't anybody in sight. OX was going trigger-happy on a desk. I flipped myself over the table and ran towards the desk. A man peaked his head over. "Hi!" I exclaimed, as I pulled the trigger. A hole appeared in the man's head. He toppled backwards, with a drenched wall from behind where his head used to be.

One monster to go. My breathing slowed to an almost death-like whisper. OX had stopped firing. Was I wrong? Did I miss count? I hid my doubts, and scanned the room. I thought to myself, it's too quiet. Has the wasteland convinced me that there's nothing more terrifying than complete silence?

I packed my revolver into my waistband, and reached over my shoulder for my newly found hunting rifle. I pulled the bolt handle back, and readied myself. I know there's one more. If the wasteland of Nevada has taught me anything, it's to never underestimate the quiet.

A clink of a bottle broke and splashed, echoing in my hearing. My view shifted towards the noise. A man dove out, from about five feet away, and aimed his pistol at me. Before I had a chance to pull the trigger, OX let out a loud siren, and its familiar "PEW!" The man let out a screech as his body exploded from the bright red light, again, blurring my vision.

My feet stood in front of the mess of organs and scattered blood. I looked down at myself. My whole body was drenched in a dark red. I smirked.

Walking towards the nearest shredded body, I crouched, stripping the man of his bullet proof vest and lifting it over my head. I chuckled to myself, knowing the vest didn't do much for this man. I stopped dead, my arms frozen on the straps. I was laughing. I had smirked. I just killed 7, okay 2, OX did most of the work, men and I was happy about it.

I shook my head violently, roughly strapping the vest to my chest. Visions of Jackie, decimating people without a second thought, automatically scavenging dead bodies for equipment. There was something deep in the depths of my brain that was malicious. Something that was coming out more and more.

I padded out of the room, OX humming quietly behind me. It was comforting, or as much as an electronic tune could be. I clenched the handle of my commandeered revolver, knuckles turning white.

It was how you survived the Wasteland; Being brutal and uncaring. That's the only way I could survive.

It was too quiet in the hallway we walked into. Light from the recently rising sun permeated the dirt smeared windows along the corridor, casting shadows along my path. I grumbled about not sleeping the night before, holding back a yawn.

Footsteps pounded to my left, and I jumped to the side, hiding behind an old vending machine. OX followed me, seemingly perplexed at the aspect of hiding when there were convicts to kill.

I waited patiently, listening to the footsteps getting closer. 3 sets of footsteps? 4? I couldn't tell, but there was more than one. They ran past the vending machine, and I grinned, pulling the trigger directed at the back of one of the men's heads.

He flew forward, head cracked and pouring blood. The other three men skidded to a stop and vaulted around, weapons drawn. I twisted the revolver out of my waistband and pulled the trigger six times, as much as the cylinder allowed.

Two men dropped, one hissing angrily and grabbing his shoulder where one bullet pierced him. OX fired off a spray of hot lasers, burning holes through the man's face.

I walked over to the bodies, digging around for spare ammunition. It was too natural to do that at this point. I threw a few boxes of ammo into my pack and stood, walking down the hallway.

I turned to OX, my finger twitching at my side, "How many more do you think there are, buddy? There can't be that many.."

OX hummed, in which I took as agreement, as I sighed, continuing on. I checked every room, and I found nothing. I put my hands on my hips, surveying the last of the rooms, "That was it? Seriously?"

I turned and headed back to the front, obviously not expecting an answer from my robotic friend. I opened the doors to the hotel, the sun rising high on the horizon. I winced from the light, so used to the moon's glow and the dark rooms inside.

I turned my head to the side, hearing wooden creaks. I grinned, pulling my hunting rifle off my shoulder, and looked around. I knew there had to be more. I raised an eyebrow at the giant roller coaster encircling the hotel, and saw him.

High on the top of the contraption, he was crouched, holding a sniper. I cursed, bolting up the rickety coaster, hoping I could outrun him. There was no cover besides inside the hotel. I knew he would never go inside with his perfect snipers nest, so I had to get him quick.

My feet were pounding as bullets rained down on me. A few scraped my skin, but I would not stop running. OX followed behind at a leisurely pace, not the target of the sniper. I got to the top and turned on the balls of my feet, shooting as fast as I could. The man faltered in his shooting, one of my bullets hitting his arm.

I barreled down the coaster's hill, rolling and tumbling down, trying as hard as I could not to fall to my death. The wood structure curved upwards again, and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest as I ran. I was 15 feet from the man now, as he struggled to turn his rifle towards me. I shot my rifle, but nearly choked when I realized I had no more bullets.

My head was screaming as I scrambled for my varmint rifle. The man was quicker. I screamed out curses, my legs pouring out blood. I flew forward, hands grasping the wooden planks, trying to hold myself steady. One bullet to the thigh was nothing, I would be fine.

My varmint rifle crashed to the ground when I fell forward, and I snatched my revolver and fired before he had a chance to react. A loud pop cracked my eardrums, and the man fell, body shattered on the concrete below. I sighed, and propped myself up, hobbling down the roller coaster.

Reaching the bottom, I limped towards my broken gun. I dropped to my knees, fingering the remains of the rifle Jackie had given me. I grabbed a handful of the metal and clenched my fist around it.

I felt tears run down my face, and fiercely rubbed them away with a fist. It was just a gun. It doesn't matter if it was broken. It wasn't as if it was Jackie.

OX beeped a few times, hovering above my head. I laughed bitterly, wiping away the last of the liquid betraying me. I stood, glancing one last time at the gun before turning my back and walked away, dragging my lame leg.

Looking down at myself, I flung my hands, a few drops of blood flickering on the ground. I growled at my leg, pulsating with pain. I roared in frustration, pulling out a Stimpack and impaling it in my leg above the wound. I hissed, wrapping gauze around the wound, happy it had gone through and not impaled itself in my muscle.

I shivered, the thought of a bullet wiggling around inside of me again was disgusting. I continued on, looking around to see if any of the NCR soldiers were around. I walked over the bridge, and into the camp. There were a few soldiers mulling about, and a few of them gaped at me.

I must have been a sight. A tiny woman covered in blood being followed by a floating robot. I couldn't hold back a chuckle. Laughing was about the only thing I could do at that point. I opened the flap to Lt. Barretts tent, stomping towards where he sat at the computer desk. His jaw dropped when he saw me, sputtering nonsense.

I grinned brightly, punching my fist in the air. "Where the fuck is your hat? It's time to eat that shit!"

**Authors Note- Well, this was a pretty short chapter, but JAM PACKED WITH THUGGISHNESS! My roommate/beta reader wrote some of the action scenes, and I have to say, I'm damn impressed. But once again, don't tell him I said that. **


	6. Nipton

**Soul Eater: New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Authors Note- You know if there's anyone actually reading this story, you should check out the song Radioactive by Imagine Dragons. (If you haven't heard it already, I mean. It's pretty damn popular.) That song kind of personifies this entire story. I listen to it whenever I write action scenes. c:**

**Chapter 6. Nipton.**

My pack was a little heavier after leaving Primm. Lt. Barrett managed to scrounge up some spare ammunition, food and water for me. A man of his word, the enormous man attempted to devour his own hat. I had almost cried from laughing so hard at the look on his face.

He was partly ashamed, partly satisfied with my success, and a huge chunk of embarrassment as he munched on his wide brimmed hat. I let out one last peel of laughter before shaking my head and allowing him some dignity. He had sighed with relief, and patted me on the back, thanking me for showing mercy.

Lt. Barrett had allowed me to sleep in one of the soldiers tents on his cot. I don't even remember falling asleep, I was so exhausted. When I awoke, the sun was slowly rising over the horizon. I balked at how long I had slept, and quickly shoved my feet in my boots.

The NCR had gone into the city and told everyone it was safe to come out while I was asleep. Everyone was just waking up when I walked out of the tent, and I smiled sheepishly as the soldiers commented on my sleeping habits. Lt. Barrett had given me as much as he could spare, and sent me on my way.

OX hummed lightly as we walked down the highway towards Nipton. Lt. Barrett had informed me that the usual way to get to New Vegas was having issues. He didn't specify, but he said to stay far away from that little town called Sloan. I agreed, and he described how to go the long route: through Nipton, then Novac, up North towards the 188 trading post then North West until I reach Freeside.

It was a long walk to Nipton, but at least I could re-supply there. As I started off down the road, I could see the silhouette of two statues in the distance. I tipped my head, trying to squint my eyes and make out what in the world it was. It just looked like two people shaking hands. I raised an eyebrow, but kept walking. I guess I'd figure out what it was sooner or later.

I took a swig of my canteen and looked up at OX. I wasn't sure what the robot ran on, maybe he was solar powered? Should I feed him motor oil? I chuckled, thinking I should have asked the owner if the office I found him in.

I patted the robot on the head as we continued walking. I knew stealing was wrong, but I was not going to give up my new mechanical friend. He was just a pile of junk on a counter when I found him. I'm sure the owner wouldn't miss him.

I sighed, leaning my head back as I walked. OX beeped a few times, probably as bored as I was. Could robots get bored? I mean, hovering around with nothing to do but stare at a vast open desert isn't fun for anybody, robots included.

The Mojave Wasteland was aptly named. There was nothing along the highway, save some broken down old cars, tattered billboards and the random corpses littering the road. My feet padded on the simmering concrete, creating a lulling rhythm.

I pulled out one of my revolvers, twisting it around in my fingers. I was anxious for something to jump out and attack, but the road was surprisingly quiet. The sun was draped high in the vast blue sky, not a cloud in sight. I glared up at the glistening ball, my eyes squinting shut after a minute. Did it ever rain here?

I heard the sound of boots pounding on pavement, and glanced around, a menacing smile gracing my face. Finally, some action. I ducked behind an old police car to my right, and poked my head over, trying to determine who was attacking me.

Two men and a woman dressed in raggedy clothes were running towards the building I was near, the men with rifles, the woman with a large knife. OX hummed loudly, shooting a few of his lasers. The men scattered, shooting their guns in the direction of OX. The woman bolted for the police car I was hiding behind.

I grunted as I stood, aiming my pistol. I shot for her head, but she ducked quickly, slashing at me with her knife. I jumped backwards, barely avoiding her blade. "Come on, bitch!" She cried, lunging at me once again. I grinned, shooting again and hitting her in the leg, "That's no way for a lady to talk, you ugly fuck!" The woman howled in pain, but threw her knife at me before a bullet pierced her neck.

I screeched, pulling the blade out of my left shoulder. I winced as it dragged along my skin, pulling out at least a good three inches. OX had reduced the two men to burning corpses, and hovered over to my side. I dug around in my pack with my good arm, pulling out a Stimpack and some gauze.

I stuck the Stimpack into my shoulder, biting my tongue to keep from screaming. I sighed in relief when the medicine flowed through my veins, taking away some of the pain. I wrapped my shoulder in gauze, biting the edge of the material and tucking it inside for support.

I got up shakily, the adrenaline from the shot making me jittery. I wiped the blood from the blade and stuffed it in my bag, glaring down at the body of the woman who had stabbed me. I kicked her in the side, huffing loudly.

My shoulder was still aching, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. I got back on the road, walking a little less carelessly now. I didn't bother to check the dead men for anything useful; OX had left them charred, and everything would be destroyed.

I continued walking, the sun beating down on my back. The statues were getting closer, and I still found them odd. The road was starting to split, and I stopped at the fork, wondering if I should go investigate the statues or head on to Nipton. I looked up at the statues one more time and shrugged, taking the South East route.

OX beeped behind me, trailing along. I turned to him and smiled lightly, "To Nipton, eh? We don't have time for side trips. After we kill that mother fucker who shot me, we'll come back and see what in the world that's all about."

OX beeped again, his humming permeating the still air. Soon after heading down the road, I noticed a large patch of dirt coming up on the side of the round. I hissed as I saw giant ants, immediately pulling out my weapon. There was about 10 of them on the side of the road, making a meal of a dead radscorpion.

My eyes widened, and I stopped. The ants may have been huge, but that was the biggest radscorpion I had ever seen. It was 5 times the size of any normal one I saw, but the ants must have taken him down with their numbers.

I saw an ant hill in the middle of the basin of dirt, the bugs piling out of the hole and towards their kill. I swallowed thickly, and hurried along, hoping I wouldn't have to deal with them. They seemed much too interested in their meal, and barely noticed OX and I walking along.

I walked for another 20 minutes before I noticed smoke billowing in front of me, and a rancid smell filling my nose. I quickened my pace, my stomach churning with anticipation. Nearing the town I assumed was Nipton, a man was waving me down.

Red flags hung along side the town, a white bull adorning the material. They flickered in the light breeze, waving high on a light post. I jogged over to the man, OX buzzing to keep up with me.

"What in the hell happened here?" I asked incredulously, swiping my hand around. There was a huge bonfire in the middle of town, and a few of the houses were smoldering slowly. The smell was getting stronger, and I wrinkled my nose in disgust. It smelled wrong. Of things burning and dying.

The man jumped up and down, clapping his hands, "I won the lottery!"

I took a step backwards, obviously talking to a crazy person, "What do you mean you won the lottery? This town is destroyed."

The man didn't seem to hear me, and kept rambling about how happy he was and how good the air tasted. I nearly puked at the thought. The air tasted awful. The smell was being wafted towards us as a breeze picked up, making some of the small fires pick up.

"Are you okay?" I asked slowly, reaching out to touch his shoulder. The man squealed and ran off behind me, nonsense spewing from his mouth. I shook my head and pressed forward, anxious to investigate this odd town. I had to put a hand over my mouth as I got closer to the giant fire, the smell covering every other sense I had.

I noticed a street to my left, and turned my head to see if there was anyone I could talk to.

I nearly dropped to my knees at the sight.

Men were strapped onto crosses, their battered and bloodied bodies hung limp upon the wood. I let out a strangled gasp, and couldn't move. There were so many of them, and they all looked near death. Pitch forks were stuck in the ground, and heads were stabbed upon them, creating a gruesome decoration that lined the streets.

I rushed forward, immediately grasping the ropes and trying to pull the man down. He groaned quietly, blood dribbling out the side of his mouth. I whimpered, a sound I didn't realize I was still capable of. I ripped at the ropes, and could feel bile rising in my throat when his flesh started to shred where I was grabbing the rope.

I heard footsteps, and flung my head around, my shoulder protesting with the quick movement. A man stood a few yards away, adorned in red armor. There were other men in red standing around, and a few mangy dogs were seated at their feet. I growled low in my throat, subconsciously moving in front of the dying man hung on the cross.

One of the men stepped forward, a wolf's head and pelt strapped to his skull like a helmet. I glared at him, and he studied me for a few moments before laughing. His laugh made me cringe. It was cold and menacing, nothing like how a laugh should sound like.

"It's ironic that you would be the one to help them."

The man's voice was even worse than his laugh, harsh and terrifying. I clenched my fists, my jaw clenching together.

"Not all Wastelanders are selfish!" I gritted out between my teeth, reaching for my rifle. The man put a hand up, his eyes filled with what I could only describe as a calculated mirth.

"No need to draw your weapon against I."

I bit down on my tongue, fury washing over me, "I don't need to draw my weapon?! You were the ones that massacred all these innocent people!"

The man scoffed, and a dog growled by his side, "Innocent? These pathetic excuse for humans needed to be punished for their transgressions. Have you learned nothing? Asura is always watching."

I felt a pang of confusion, and was a little frightened, but anger washed that emotion away quickly, "You're Asura's Legion, aren't you?" I spat, wincing again as the man on the cross groaned.

The man with the wolf pelt paused, then chuckled, rubbing his chin, "Well, isn't this ironic? I thought you would be the perfect person to tell the world of the power of Asura's Legion. Seems as though this little town will be your only knowledge. That will have to do, I suppose."

I ground my teeth together, pulling my rifle off my shoulder. Before I had a chance to aim, 10 more men walked into my view, their crimson outfits offsetting the orange fire behind them. The man with the wolf pelt shook his head, "You do not want to attack us. I told you that I would allow you to live. Put your weapon away, and we will not end your life."

I scowled at them, but gingerly put my rifle down, turning to OX and signaling him to lower his laser gun. The robot complied, beeping a few times before falling silent. The men seemed confused, a few staring directly at me. I shifted from foot to foot, all too eager to kill them.

There were far too many. Even with OX by my side, there was no way I could win. The man with the wolf pelt, whom I now realized must have been the leader, waved an arm at the other men, and turned to walk away.

He leered back at me, a menacing smile plastered on his face, "We'll meet again, Wastelander."

I shivered at the glance, and watched the men and their dogs walk off. I turned back to the man on the cross, and tried removing the ropes again. The man let out a whine, and I looked up at his face, eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Please.." His words seemed to form the words but no further sound would come up. He took a deep shaky breath, coughing up blood before trying again, "Please.. Kill me.. I don't deserve to live.."

I pressed a hand to my chest, "Yes you do. Come on, I'll help you down." The man tried to shake his head, "I'm a convict... I.. I killed.. Others.. I don't.. Deserve.." For the first time I really looked at him, and my heart nearly stopped when I read the script on his shirt. NCRCF.

This man was a Powder Ganger. I clenched my hand into a fist, but not knowing whether to punch him, the ground, or maybe myself. I guess there were worse enemies out there than Powder Gangers. I hung my head low, letting my fist unclench.

I looked up at him, and sighed, pulling out one of my revolvers. He had bullet wounds riddling his chest, and blood was pouring from every decrepit wound. If I took him down off the cross, he would die soon after. Even if I was proficient with healing, which I am not, I wouldn't have been able to save him.

"Just so you know, I'm doing this because I realized something. We're all just people trying to survive. Some of us just get stuck on the wrong path. I'm doing this as mercy, not out of spite, okay?"

The man attempted a nod, and I sighed again, not wanting to look as I shot the dying man. A loud crack rang out, and blood spattered on the top of my lowered head. I wiped some of the blood off of my head, tinting my ashy hair red. I scraped my hand on the dirt, then brushed them off on my jeans.

I turned towards the road, not looking back towards the raging fire. OX seemed uncharacteristically quiet, his usual hum was almost silent. I kept my eyes on the ground in front of me as I walked, a melancholy feeling filling me to the brim.

I headed out of the town and towards Novac, hoping I had enough supplies to make it there. I may have been upset by what had just happened, but no tears threatened to fall this time. The Wasteland was toughening me out, and I wasn't sure whether that was extremely good, or extremely bad.

**Authors Note- I think some of the things Maka does in this story can be taken as OOC, but in all honesty, if Maka were put into this situation, I think this is exactly how she would act. Maka is a damn thug, and in the Wasteland, she would have to rethink all of her morals and previous sentiments towards everything. Just something I was thinking about. (:**


	7. NoVac

**Soul Eater: New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Authors note- My beta reader and I just want to thank the few people that have reviewed, followed and favorited this story. You guys are **_**amazing.**_

**DeathDealer****-Even though you didn't like how I wrote the characters, I took your advice and am re-doing the first chapter. Stein has way more character points I can go off of.**

**Allycatt14****-Thank you so much! It made me sad too. :c But yes! This is SoMa! Haha.**

**sen whitefox mako red demon****-I love the OX bot comparison as well! He's my favorite.**

**Cherryberry998****-The Powder Gangers are just Powder Gangers from Fallout in this story. There aren't enough group enemies in Soul Eater, and I needed more battles. (; But thanks and I hope you like this chapter!**

**RPGnerd****-I usually do as well! I killed so many legion soldiers my first run through of New Vegas. Haha. I destroyed Cottonwood Cove the first chance I got. Those bitches are toast.**

**Chapter 7, NoVac**

I pulled out my compass and started heading South East like Dr. Stein had told me. I sighed and moved my pack around on my shoulder to make it more comfortable. The hunting rifle strapped to my back was getting heavy, but I had to deal with it.

OX hummed beside me as we walked along, and I decided I would be lost without his lulling steady electrical signal next to me. My footsteps weren't as steady as when I left Primm. I shuffled along, feet scuffing up dirt on the broken down road we were traveling on.

There was a sign in front of me that stated, "Welcome to Nevada! The silver state." I chuckled and shook my head. "The silver state?" I said out loud, OX being my only way of letting out the thoughts in my head, "More like the brown state."

It was an incredibly brown place. The mountains were all a dusty tan color, and even the shrubs that grew from in between crevices were dull in color. The sign was riddled with bullet holes, which proved even more that whatever kind of place this state used to be was no more.

The sign next to it read, "Highway 164". At least I was headed in the right direction. We passed a railroad crossing on our way out, and I made sure to step carefully over the broken steel jutting from the tracks. Somewhere in the back of my mind there was a memory of train tracks, split knees, and a man dressed in red stitching up my skin.

I furrowed my eyebrows and I contemplated, walking down the road. I wish I could remember more about my past. It was becoming a little bit irritating that everything was jumbled and in pieces.

The road wound through a crooked pair of mountains, towering above and nearly blocking out the sun. There were cars strewn around the pavement, and I had to be careful not to trip over the random clump of broken metal.

About half way through the pass, I heard a quick beeping sound, and the word, _"Frag!" _flew through my mind before I was thrown backwards onto the ground, my head hitting first. The buzzing noise the first time I woke up returned with a vengeance.

I hissed in pain, holding onto my head and willing the fuzzy vision and dizziness to go away. I heard bullets ring out, and I attempted to stand up as quickly as possible. The buzzing was permeating every thought in my head.

I groaned angrily and shoved my hands into the dirt, pushing myself upwards. I stood shakily, and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand. "Come on!" I ground out between my teeth. The last thing I needed right now was for my head injury to start acting up.

I heard the high pitched whine of OX shooting his lasers, and knew I had to get my ass in gear. Even though my vision was still blurred and I was unsteady on my feet, I pulled out one of my pistols and aimed it the best I could.

The sight was shaky in my grip, but I could make out the image of a scrawny looking girl coming at me with a baseball bat. I pulled the trigger, and the girl faltered, her shoulder cocked at an awkward angle from the bullet lodged in her muscles.

She switched the bat to her other hand and came after me again. I cursed under my breath and squinted my eyes, my sight finally getting clearer. Once I had a clear view, I pulled the trigger once more, the bullet burrowing itself in her forehead.

I turned to my right to see another raggedy looking man cocking the bolt handle of his gun and aiming at me. I rolled to the side hoping to buy myself some time, and fired haphazardly in his direction.

One bullet hit his arm, and he winced before shooting towards me. The shot missed, and OX took care of him half a second after his finger pressed down on the trigger. I stood up, my head aching from the impact. I swallowed down my nausea and holstered my pistol.

I smiled up at OX, and nodded my head, "You sure are a life saver, buddy." The robot beeped a few times and started off in the direction of Novac.

I rubbed the back of my head gingerly, testing to see if there was any blood. I pulled my hand back, and frowned at the small smear of red that almost blended in with my already stained hands. I sighed, and wiped my hands on my pants. I was going to need a bath when I got to Novac. At least most of the blood on my clothes and skin wasn't mine.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I noticed two huge wolves walking in front of me. I dived behind a car and peeked my head over, waiting for them to attack. They stopped and looked at me, their amber eyes curious but not with malicious intent. They turned their heads back around and continued walking.

I stood up and raised an eyebrow, watching the canines trudge up a hill to my left. I wasn't sure why they didn't attack me, but I wasn't going to start a fight. If OX wasn't attacking them, they were probably just minding their own business.

I thought of Lantern's collar tucked safely in my pack, and a wave of sadness rushed over me. Their golden eyes reminded me of the loyal mutt from Goodsprings. My boots tapped against the ground, almost as a musical beat. The rhythmic repetition reminded me of the radio I fixed back at the Prospector's Saloon. These thoughts started bringing back morose feelings. I quickly wiped them out of my mind, this was no time for remorse.

My eyes began to focus on the words on a billboard in the distance. "Let it all end." it read. Curiosity took me, and I squinted, my hand shading my eyes, to read what was written below it. "Quit your whining!" I laughed, reading aloud. Sudden bursts of light flashed directly right of the sign, accompanied by multiple bangs. OX let out his loud, beeping battle cry as he fired lasers at the silhouette in the distance.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, barreling towards a large rock in the distance. Behind my cover, I aimed down the sight of my rifle. Pulling the trigger, the man fell to the floor. _Nice shot! _Surprised with myself, I let out a small smirk. Two more men picked up dust, treading down the hill through the distant bushes, aiming, what seemed to be, sub-machine guns at OX. Maybe they haven't noticed me.

I peered down the sight of my rifle, once again. As I exhaled, my finger placed itself over the trigger. An interrupting, loud hissing sound filled my ear, hot breath and spit against my cheek. I turned to the right, rifle readied, when I was pushed about five feet back.

A familiar, infamous sight came into view: a massive, pink monstrosity hurdling itself towards me. The mole rat, not a foot from me, lifted its enormous paw, about to repeat my fate.

"No!" I exclaimed, jabbing my foot into the beast's deformed face. The force of my kick pushed me back a few feet, the gravel and dirt scraping through the fabric of my vest. I raised my gun as the monster approached, and pulled the trigger. Remnants of it's head splashed over my whole torso and face.

I bounced up, remembering OX was still facing two other wastelanders. As my view focused on the battle, my eyes widened in shock. Three more mole rats were ripping apart the convicts in the distance, and another was on top of OX, who was half buried in the dirt, rapidly becoming the creature's scratching post. Before another thought was placed in my head, my legs were already moving beneath me, pushing me in the direction of OX. Within seconds, my pistols were placed against the skull of the soon-to-be ant bait. Triggers pulled, the mangled rodent fell next to OX.

He buzzed, as he lifted himself out of the dirt, shaking off clouds of dust. In a blur, the other three mole rats were dead, bullet holes riddling their heads and torsos. "Looks like we all were caught off guard, eh, buddy?" I nervously laughed, patting OX's mechanical belly. He let out one of his regular beeps, sighing of relief, I believed.

We continued walking, my hand now always resting on the pistol at my hip. My feet were moving on their own after a while. I knew it was going to be a long trip to Novac, but this was nothing what I anticipated. The sun was pulsating above me, the heat waves surrounding the bulbous gas ball giving it an almost malicious looking grin.

I shook my head at the heat induced hysteria, wincing when the whine in my ears started up again. I groaned, trying to keep my vision from getting fuzzy. I really needed to stop using my cranium as a landing pad for all my falls.

I wrenched the canteen from my pack, taking a swig and sighing in relief as my mouth no longer had the consistency of grimy socks. I dug around for a moment, pausing in my step. I pulled out a barrel cactus fruit from inside the depth and bit into it heartily.

I sighed contentedly and continued walking, munching on my fruit. This was my last piece of food, and I only had about 2 more swallows of water left. I threw the rind of the fruit on the ground, and kept walking. I had really hoped Novac wasn't too far away.

I heard the heavy thud of footsteps, and instantly pulled out my pistol. I leered up the road, cautious of who it might be.

Large brahmin with several bags straddling their backs followed behind two men carrying what looked like glorified pistols who led another man and woman. I quirked my head to the side, curious as to what merchants were doing out this far.

I jogged closer, calling out for them to slow down. One of the mercenaries pointed his odd looking gun at me, but when I put my hands up and smiled, he pointed it away.

"What are you guys doing out this far?" I questioned as one of the merchants turned around and smiled at me.

"We're traveling merchants. We travel the Wasteland for any traveler in need of, well.. Anything."

I dug around in my pack to see how many bottle caps I had collected, "Well that's great, I'm definitely in need. But isn't it dangerous to do this?"

The merchant pointed to his companion mercenaries and chuckled, "Not with these guys around." He patted one of the brahmin on it's front thigh affectionately, "No one wants to mess with two mercenaries with laser pistols."

I inspected the guns a little closer, raising an eyebrow. It must be in the same category as what OX had. "Can I see what you've got for sale?" The merchant nodded, and pulled open one of the sacks on the brahmins back, "Sure. Have a look."

I peered inside the huge bag, and my eyes turned the size of dinner plates. This guy had everything from bullets to bubblegum. I dug around for a while, pulling out odds and ends and setting them on the ground. I stocked up on ammunition, food, water, Stimpacks, and some antivenom. I hoped I would never need to use that last one, but one can never be too careful out here.

I grinned and glanced down at my pile of almost acquired goodies. I pulled out my pack, and dug out some bottle caps. I counted them out, and frowned at the number.

"Sir.. I don't have enough for everything.. But I have other things I could trade if you're willing."

The man nodded, "Of course! I'm always looking to stock up and get new items."

I nodded happily, and OX's humming got louder, a sign I figured meant the robotic stiff was getting impatient. I chuckled and poked one of the long metal antenna that jutted out from his body, "I'm almost done, buddy."

I pulled out a few items, knowing I would never use them. There was something I knew was called Jet that I pulled off a mans dead body a while ago. It was a drug that Jackie had taught me about, and I was never going to take that shit. I didn't need any enhancements.

"Alright, ma'am. It looks like we're even. Be safe out there."

I waved as they walked away, feeling extremely relieved that I wasn't going to die of hunger or thirst before I got to Novac. As the whine in my head started up again, I grimaced, thinking of all the other things I could die of out here.

As OX and I walked for what seemed like hours, my head continuously decided to betray me. Every so often, my brain would ache, and my vision would get blurry and bright. One hand pressed on my skull, trying to bate the pan, another on the pistol at my hip, hoping no one would sneak up behind us and slaughter me.

To my surprise, the road had been very quiet. I walked upon a walled in area with a massive bunch of trailer haphazardly pushed together. I turned to OX, about to ask him what he thought the place was, before I nearly screamed from frustration. I was in desperate need of human contact.

There was a sign outside with the flag of the NCR painted on it. I sighed, thankful once for the NCR. No wonder this road was so quiet, there was an outpost here. No thugs would dare roam in these parts. At least not any normal thugs. I contemplated going inside, but the snipers nest I caught out of the side of my eye convinced me that maybe I wasn't welcome inside.

I continued on towards Novac, making sure to check my compass every hour or so. After the sun had long set, I noticed a green mass on the horizon. I let out a very unintelligent, "Huuuuh?" Before racing towards it. What in the hell is that thing?! I got closer, and slapped myself on the forehead, although immediately regretting it from the pounding that followed.

It was a damned giant reptile statue standing on it's hind legs. I groaned and rolled my eyes as I neared the entrance to town. What in the hell is a giant reptile statue doing in the middle of this town? I noticed a tent off to the side and walked over, hoping to get some answers.

"Hello?" I called out, hoping not to startle the two men holding rifles outside the tent. They turned quickly towards me, pointing their weapons. A woman with long blonde hair tied up in a pony tail, with short cropped bangs stepped out of the tent, slapping one of the men on the shoulder, "What in the world are you doing? Put that thing down!"

She walked over to me, and immediately pointed to my skull, "30 caps and I'll fix that mangled head of yours."

I glared at her and covered my head with my hand, staring at her blood stained shirt, "And who the hell are you?"

"I'm Dr. Anya Straus. Like I said, 30 caps. That looks disgusting and must hurt."

My scowl deepened, but I had no other choice, my head hurt like hell. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

With no anesthesia, the process was grating and extremely painful. Although when I sat up after being manhandled by Dr. Anya, I didn't feel the faint ache that had been present since I hit my head yesterday.

"Thanks.." I said cautiously, handing over the caps. It was the last I had, but very worth it.

"Just doing my job. Now get out of here."

I rolled my eyes and walked over to the entrance of the town. There was a sign that had the letters, "No Vac" on it. It looked like the last half of the towns name was missing, the ending of "vacancy" ripped from the sign. But I didn't care. Half the Wasteland was missing something; I was just happy to find other humans that weren't trying to kill me.

There was a gate and a door to the side, leading into an office. I peered inside the window, but didn't see anyone. I shrugged and pulled open the gate. The town was nothing more than an old motel with a gate around it. I shuffled inside, and looked around, curious as to what sort of people lived here.

I walked around the reptile's tail and saw there was a ladder leading up to a doorway. I nearly burst out laughing at the thought. "Here we go.." I muttered as I walked inside. The room was dusty and just a little bit creepy, the lights flickering, and radio buzzing in the corner. Not to mention there were mini reptiles everywhere.

I noticed another stairway going up, and decided to follow it. I was curious, and nothing stopped me when I needed to find something out. I opened up the door at the top, and was startled to find myself at the mouth of the giant reptile, with a man standing in front of me.

His snow white hair was shocking, and he quickly turned around, crimson eyes glowing.

"Who are you?! This had better be important."

I was in shock at this man. His first words to me had been a snarl, revealing sharp, pointed teeth. His pale hair was being held back with a maroon headband, and he wore he uniform of the NCR. He had a sniper poised at his side, fingers long and still on the trigger.

Before answering, I felt something flutter inside my stomach, a flash of some feeling I hadn't felt since I left Goodsprings. I had worked hard to bury any sort of emotion like this. No one was getting close to me again. This angry sniper made my chest hurt, and after 10 seconds of knowing him, I already knew I wasn't going to like him.

**Authors note-Sorry it took me so long to update this! 55 hours of work a week+my year old son= Barely any time to write for me. :c But I'm going to try harder to keep these updates regular. Thanks again so much to the people who are following this story. You have no idea how much it means to me. 3 Btw, GUESS WHAT CHARACTER SOUL ISSSS. One of my favorite Fallout characters of all time. Super excited for the next chapter to have something more than just description and walking. Haha.**


	8. Soul

**Soul Eater: New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Authors Note- I wanted to thank ****RPGNerd**** and ****sen whitefox mako red demon ****for reviewing again. (: ****Sen****- I really appreciate you noticing (and enjoying) the pace I've kept here. I feel like it needed to start a little bit slower. And ****RPGNerd****, Boone is definitely my favorite follower, besides Rex, and it's so much fun to destroy legionnaires with him. Haha.**

**Chapter 8, Soul**

I put a hand on my hip and glared up at the sniper standing in front of me, "I was just looking around. No need to get so angry."

His upper lip lifted up, showing off his sharp teeth in his obvious dislike of me, "There's nothing up here." I poked him in the chest, grinning, "There's a sniper up here. That's something."

He rolled his eyes and smacked my hand away, "I don't know who you are, and I don't care. I think you should leave."

I snorted, waving my hand around, "What, do you own this reptile? I don't think so. My name is Girl, by the way. Do you treat everyone like this?"

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry, okay. Things have been tough lately. Your name is.. Girl? What kind of name is that?"

I shrugged my shoulders, a scowl returning to my face, "It's a fine name, jerk. What's your name?"

He took a quick glance to the side, his eyes roaming the dark grounds of the town, "My name is Soul."

I chuckled, shaking my head, "Soul? That's your name? And you're making fun of my name? Oh man, that's funny."

He groaned angrily and turned back around to the mouth of the reptile statue, "I don't need this right now. Get out of here."

I poked him in the back, receiving another death glare from the white haired man, "Come on, what's wrong in the life of Soul the sniper, and can I help?"

I pulled my hand into a fist, grinning when he turned around, "I love to help damsels in distress."

He rolled his eyes again, but I saw humor in his wine colored eyes, "Okay, actually, you might be able to help. You're a stranger, and I need someone I can trust. That's a start at least."

I raised an eyebrow, contemplating his words, "Do you only trust strangers?"

He looked at me over his shoulder, not fully turning around, "I said it's a start. I need you to find something out for me. A week ago my brother was taken from our room when I was on duty. Those bastards from Asura's Legion knew when to come, and how to get in. I need you to find out who did it."

My eyes grew wide, and I felt my stomach drop. I had misjudged this man, and I felt horrible about it. He was feeling just like I did when Jackie was taken from me, and he was still doing his job, protecting the town that betrayed him. "So you want me to find out where your brother is?"

His eyes flashed, and I noticed his shoulders straighten, "No. Wes is dead. I'm trying to find the fucker that let the Legion take him."

I was taken back, and asked softly, "How do you know he's dead?"

Those crimson eyes were turned on me, and I was surprised at how intense they were, "I just know. That's all you need to know."

I nodded, and noticed OX buzzing in circles down on the ground, his attempt to get my attention. I chuckled, and waved down to him, "I'll be down soon, buddy."

I turned back to Soul, who had an odd expression on his face as he noticed the robot floating below us. He raised an eyebrow at me, but I waved him off, "So what would you like me to do when I find this person?"

His eyes narrowed, and he pulled the bandanna off his head, letting his snowy hair fall into his face, "Bring the person in front of the dinosaur at night, that's when I work, and put this on. That will be our signal. I'll do the rest."

I took the bandanna, and shifted it around in my fingers, "That's all well and good, but what's a dinosaur? Do you mean this reptile thing?"

Soul sighed and shook his head, "Seriously?"

I blinked, tipping my head, "Ohhh, I thought I saw a sign that said 'Dinobite'. Now that makes sense!"

I heard him mutter under his breath, "I'm leaving this up to her?"

I glared and shoved the bandanna in my pack, "Shut up, okay? I'm doing this for you."

He pushed a smile on his face and nodded, "I know. And thank you. Let's not talk again until this over, okay? I don't need any more suspicion and I need to keep the Legion off my back. I'll make this worth your while."

I saluted him, and turned towards the door, "Alright, stranger. See you around."

I turned and walked back down the stairs into the belly of the dinosaur. I pushed open the door to find OX beeping at me impatiently. I chuckled and patted the top of his mechanical head. "Sorry, buddy. I'm back now. Let's go back to that office place and wait for someone, okay?"

I made my way back over to the front part of the tiny town and peeked inside the dirty window once again. There was a dusty couch in the corner that seemed to be calling my name. I twisted the handle of the door, and was surprised when it creaked open. I peered inside, OX buzzing over my head and into the office.

I hissed at him as he seemed to make himself at home, "OX! You can't just.. Come on, OX, no!" He plopped himself down on the floor near the couch, and his lights became dimmer until his signature low beep echoed off. I sighed, nudging the booted down robot with my combat boot. I suppose he had been going for a long time and his circuits needed rest. I laid down on the couch, my eyelids betraying me in an attempt to make me fall asleep.

I rubbed my eyes with the heel of my hand, my train of thought derailing at the feeling of something other than rocky dirt under my back. I sighed contentedly as my head rested upon the rough fabric of the couch. I guess I could sleep here for just a little while..

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Oh dear. You look like a sleepy little frog, all curled up here." I sat up quickly, jutting my limbs out wildly, reaching for my gun. I looked up to see a woman in a polka dot dress and pale blue hair pulled up into a bun.

"Uhm.. I'm really sorry about falling asleep here. I was looking for some information and no one was awake yet.. And.. Yeah, I'm really sorry." I rubbed at my eyes furiously, looking sheepishly up at the woman.

She giggled, and pushed her thin glasses up on her face. "Oh, don't worry about that. Let this town take care of you. My name is Eruka Mae Crawford."

I nodded, flicking OX in one of his antenna's to get him to re-boot, "My name is Girl. This is OX." The robot beeped a few high notes as his lights began to return, hovering back in his usual spot by my shoulder.

Eruka put a finger to her chin, staring in awe at the robot, "Well, now that we're properly introduced, how can I help you?"

I sat up further on the couch, running a hand through my ashy blond hair, "Well, first off, this place is Novac, right? "

Eruka grinned and swung her hand around, "Yes, ma'am. This is the DinoDelight motel. It's mine. We're our own little oasis out here. The RepConn facility is down the road, the old rocket factory. We don't go up there anymore, though. There's some sinister stuff going on up there."

I nodded, trying to remember all the towns Dr. Stein had told me were around here. "What else is near here?"

"Up north is a big tower, that's Helios One. It used to be a big power plant. To the east is Nelson. It used to be a quaint little town until Slavers took it over. But we've got Killik and Soul to take care of the slavers that try to come out this way."

I wiggled my nose at the thought of the red eyed sniper I met earlier, "When I was exploring last night, I met Soul. What's his problem?"

Eruka placed a hand on her cheek, sighing, "Oh, he hasn't been the same since his brother ran off."

I tipped my head to the side, confusion evident on my face, "Ran off?"

"Oh yes, Wes sure was an interesting one. He never really liked it out here. He was used to the hustle and bustle of New Vegas, and he never let Soul forget that. He was some fancy violinist up there until Soul left the NCR and they decided to come down here together. He must have run off a few weeks ago because no one has heard from him since."

OX buzzed in my face for a moment before I hissed at him and swatted him away, "Well thank you for telling me all that. I do have one more question for you, though. I'm looking for a man in a checkered suit. He had blond hair and piercing all over his face. Have you seen anyone like that recently?"

Eruka nodded, her dark eyes flashing between OX and myself. "Yes, I believe I did. He was no gentleman, that's for sure. I think he knew Killik, our daytime sniper."

I stood up, holding out my hand to shake Eruka's, "Thank you for the information. Is there anyway I could sleep on your couch for the next day or so? I promise I won't be here long. And I'll pay you."

Eruka giggled, her laughs almost sounding like a croaking frog, "No need, dear. I have a room for rent if you want it. 100 caps."

I grinned, grabbing my bag and digging through it until I found my caps purse, "Thank you! 100 caps it is."

She snatched the caps from my hands, her smile broadening, "Good, good! Your room is upstairs, first door on the left. Enjoy!" With that, she turned around and went behind her desk. She knelt down and seemed to press a few buttons before dropping the bag of caps. I tipped my head, but gathered my things and headed outside.

I couldn't have been asleep very long, the sun had just risen above the horizon, gathering heat to fuel the late summer day. I stretched my arms over my head, cracking my back to get rid of any kinks. I turned to OX and smiled, heading up towards our new room, "At least we've got a place to stay, yeah?"

OX beeped a low note, obviously not impressed with the dark, shabby room we were going to be occupying. I chuckled and tossed my bag onto the bed. I tugged one of the pistols from my waistband and put it on the side table next to the bed. I hung the rifle on the bed frame, and patted it affectionately. I knew I had to be careful around here, but having Soul protecting the town made me feel a little safer.

I balked at myself, groaning out loud, "Get a grip, Girl!" I muttered angrily, snatching two rubber bands out of my pack and roughly pulling my hair into two pigtails. I blew out a long breath before heading outside and back towards the big dinosaur.

"Stay out here again, okay? Sorry, but it's too cramped in there for you." OX buzzed off angrily, and I chuckled, walking up the steps.

I pushed open the door, and nodded a hello to the man behind the counter. He grinned brightly at me, "Well howdy! I'm Cliff. I've got anything you need for sale here."

I smiled, "I'll keep that in mind. I'm Girl." I glanced around and raised an eyebrow at all of the mini dinosaurs around the room. "Uhm, what are those?" Cliff's smile widened, "These are all my Dinky the dinosaur souvenirs! Only 15 caps if you want one."

I shook my head quickly, putting my hands in front of me. "Ohh, no no. It's fine! Maybe some other time."

He shrugged, picking up one of the toys and tossing around in his hands. "Suit yourself. So, what are you up to in our little town?"

I twisted around, exploring the shelves of supplies around me. "I'm just passing through. Looking for some information."

I flicked my head around as the door above us opened and a head of white appeared. Soul looked at me and grunted as he walked down the steps. I nodded in his direction and Cliff seemed to watch the exchange with a look of mild amusement.

A man with dark skin and a sniper rifle hung over his shoulder walked in the other door, stopping when he saw Soul walking out.

"What are you doing, man?! You're supposed to wait for me!"

Soul pushed past him, glaring as he walked away, "Just get up there."

The man shook his head and stomped up the stairs, not giving Cliff or I a second look. When the doors slammed shut, I looked over at Cliff, "What was that all about?"

Cliff sighed, placing the toy back up on the shelf, "Soul has been in a pretty foul mood since what happened with Wes. He thinks Killik had something to do with it."

I frowned, assuming the man with corn rows who just went upstairs was Killik. "Why would he think that?"

Cliff shrugged, "Killik and Wes never got along. Always fighting about something or other. I personally don't think Killik would ever do something like that. But I'd rather not talk about anything like that."

I nodded, looking up towards the door, "I think I'm gunna go talk to him."

Cliff laughed, patting the head of one of the toys, "Good luck with that."

I grumbled a half hearted goodbye as I trudged upstairs, more preoccupied with who might have let Asuras Legion take Soul's brother.

Killik didn't seem as startled when I walked out into the mouth of the dinosaur as Soul had. I suppose Soul wasn't used to many visitors with that attitude of his. "You're Killik, right? I'm Girl." I asked, extending my hand.

He turned his head towards me, shaking my hand, "Nice to meet you. Sorry you had to see that. Soul and I haven't been on the best of terms lately."

I stepped closer to the edge of the mouth, watching OX buzz around angrily on the ground below. "I noticed. What's the deal with you two?"

Killik scowled and his grip tightened on his rifle. "We used to be good friends. I was his spotter in the NCR. I convinced him to settle down here with me, and his brother stayed with him. I didn't ever get along with Wes, but I would never do anything to hurt him. Other than maybe punch him a few times." He chuckled at that before returning to his sober face.

"But since we fought so much, Soul thinks I had something to do with his brothers disappearance. He will barely speak to me."

I nodded slowly, listening quietly, "Well who would want him gone?"

Killik laughed loudly, shaking his head, "Are you kidding me? Anyone. Wes was rude to everyone he met. He thought he was better than everyone and made sure we knew that he was too good for this place."

I pulled on one of my pigtails, trying to figure out if I believed him.

"Sorry about ranting on. There must have been something you wanted to ask me."

I turned around, my gaze sharp on his turned back. "I'm looking for a man in a checkered suit. Blond hair, piercing all over his face. Eruka said you knew him."

Killik turned his head to look at me for a moment, taking his eyes off of the ground, "Yeah.. I know him. What do you want with him?"

I took a step closer, so excited that I was finally going to get some answers. "I need information about him."

Killik threw me a smile over his shoulder, "Well you need something and I need something. Up for a trade?"

I raised my eyebrow, leaning against the inside of the mouth, "What do you mean?"

Killik shifted from foot to foot, his gaze scanning the desert below. "Has anyone told you about RepConn yet?"

I shook my head, letting him finish, "Well there have been ghoul sightings over at RepConn. That's where we get all of our resources, and we can't go anywhere near it."

"Ghouls?"

Killik gave me a withering look, "Seriously? They are living skeletons. Demon beings that live off of radiation and only want to eat human flesh."

I stuck out my tongue, gagging, "Delicious. Why don't you take care of it?"

Killik sighed, shifted his rifle, "Because I have to watch the road. I have to take care of this place. This is my home. I want to keep it safe. I will not let Asura's Legion take over."

I groaned, chuckled under my breath, "So if I go take care of these ghouls, you'll tell me all I want to know about the man in the checkered suit?"

Killik nodded his chin sharply, "Yes ma'am."

I laughed to myself, smiling warmly, the thought of a certain dark haired girl and her dog running through my mind. Jackie would always be up for helping people in need. I rubbed the back of my neck, chuckling and gazing at the lazy sun. "I guess I really am turning into the Hero of the Wastes."

**Authors note- I'm reeeally trying to get my ass in gear on this story. I hope within the week you'll see another update. **


	9. Chewpacabra

**Soul Eater: New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Authors note- I want to thank Cherryberry998 and Goldenravish for reviewing. Thank you, guys! (:**

**Chapter 9, Chewpacabra**

Finally finding a new place to settle, for at least the time being, was surprisingly nice. I left my hotel room after a nap, expecting the sun to blind me. Opening my door, and shielding my eyes, I realized it wasn't even day time. How long have I been out for? This adventuring has really messed up my sleeping schedule. Checking the moon's placement in the sky, I figured it to be about 11:00, more or less, and began walking down the cracked and dirt-riddled steps of the motel's staircase. I figured I wasn't getting back to sleep anyways.

It was oddly quiet, even for this sparsely populated wasteland. As I walked through the front gate of Novac, OX beeped a few sporadic notes, and his antennas twitched as he hovered ahead of me. I followed, raising my pistol. As he began north towards RepConn, I glanced around my shoulder, checking the dinosaur's mouth for a familiar face. I saw the white-haired man, rifle pointed directly at me. I lifted my hand, and nervously waved. His rifle quickly shifted from north to south.

I giggled and felt heat rise in my cheeks as I continued walking. I padded out towards the few houses on the outskirts of town until I saw a man with a teddy bear stuffed animal strapped onto his head shuffling awkwardly. I raided an eyebrow, walking towards him.

His head flipped around to stare at me as I got closer to him. He snarled and put his hands up, "I'm not gunna talk!"

OX hovered in closer, and the man looked like he was going to ruin his ragged trousers. "Talk about what?" I asked, intrigued with the odd man.

He sighed and let his hands hang down by his side, "Confound it. You can't let on that you know anything. What do you want from me?"

I raised my hand out for him to shake, "My name is Girl. I just wanted to introduce myself."

The man looked incredulously at my hand for a moment, before shaking his head quickly, "No, no, no. They might be watching. They're always watching. Always hiding, never showing. They might be inside that garage!" He exclaimed, rolling behind the fence. "Quick!" He shouted, "They gon' see you!" My eyes widened, and I continued to stare at this odd man whose body was pressed up against the chain-link fence, as if it wasn't see-through.

I put a hand on my hip and peeked around at him, "Who?"

He flung his head towards me, eyes wide and jaw ajar, "The cannibals! You're one of them, aren't you?!"

He side stepped as quickly as one can side step, and pressed himself into the side of the fence opposite of me. I chuckled, walking over to him again. OX had quickly grown tired of the mans "quirks" and had buzzed off annoyed after a few words from the man.

I tipped my head at him, grinning as he slowly opened his eyes, "I'm not a cannibal. At least not yet." I bared my flat teeth at him, and giggled as he shivered and stood up, "Well alright. I believe you. None of those cannibals could ever find my hiding places. Except for that one time. But they took the form of mole rats, and I just-"

I pressed a hand over his mouth, as his rant was growing with volume and I didn't want to wake anyone. "I bet. So, what do you do around here?"

He pulled my hand off of his mouth, wiggling his arms around before continuing, "I watch and I listen. I'm like smoke and mirrors for those robot dragons. I know AAAAAALL!"

He cried out and threw his arms up in the air. I tried to quiet him, but he became silent before I had to. He slumped over onto the ground, and I nudged him with my foot to make sure he didn't sporadically combust. He sat up quickly, re-adjusting his teddy bear hat, "Right now, I'm staking out to find the chewpacabra that's been killing brahmin late at night."

I sat down next to him, facing the direction of the house he was staring intently at. It was the house with the brahmin pen next to it, but nothing seemed out of place. I squinted my eyes, and grimaced when I noticed a dead carcass littered with bullet holes on the ground of the fenced in area. The poor brahmin had been desecrated and left to rot.

"Chewpacabra?" I asked carefully, hoping not to have him yell again.

He turned towards me, pulling his hand into a fist, "I seen 'em! It was the meanest, ugliest chewpacabra I had ever seen! But he was invisible. He killed the brahmin and then walked back up the hill towards RepConn having an argument with himself."

I scratched my head, trying very hard to follow his train of thought, "An invisible chewpacabra arguing with himself?"

He nodded fiercely, "Yes! He was a blunderbust with a mini gun."

I leaned back on my hands, raising my eyebrows, "Well that must have been a sight to see."

The man grinned, showing off a mouth full of missing teeth, "You bet your keester it was. I'm gunna catch him this time. They always come around this time of night."

I chuckled, shaking my head, "I'd like to see that. I'll stay so I can watch as well."

He shrugged his shoulders, leaning forward even farther, "Stay if you want, but you better watch carefully! Them chewpacabra are sneaky bastards. I only met one other man in my life as sneaky as that chewpacabra. We was walking in the desert looking for a crashed alien spaceship and he turned to me and said, 'Tezca, I think you should go on forward and-"

I sat up, smiling, "Hey, your name is Tezca?"

He slapped himself in the side of the face, making the teddy bear that seemed to be tied to the top of his head with old twine slip to the side a bit, "DAG NABBIT! I was never supposed to say my name!"

I giggled, and patted him on the shoulder, "It's alright, Tezca. I won't tell anyone."

He scowled into the dirt, but didn't continue his self harm, "Well, all right. But make sure you don't think it either, or the aliens will snatch it from your brain and come find me."

I nodded and put my hand over my heart, "I swear not to say it or think it."

He seemed content with that, and wiggled his thumbs as he stared at the house. I eyed him carefully, taking in his appearance. "Hey," I started, "Why do you wear that stuffed bear on your head like that?"

He looked over at me, eyebrows raised, "What stuffed bear?"

I shook my head, sighing, "Just.. Never mind."

His expression towards me was a little ironic, but I let it slide as he began to jabber on again. "There's always crazy stuff happening in this town."

"Oh? Like what?"

He threw his arms out wide, wiggling them around, "Besides the chewpacabra turning brahmin into mince meat?! All of the commie ghosts up at RepConn! They want to steal the rockets to paint a Lennon face on the moon!" I interrupted, confused, "Who's Lennon?" I asked, itching my forearm. He jerked his head to look at me, almost breaking his neck. "You ain't the brightest bulb in the lamp, now ain't ya? Anywho, they been planning it since before the Great War! They was waiting! And the shadowy folk taking away that snipers brother!"

I sat up straight, "What shadowy folk? Who took Soul's brother?!"

He pulled at his hair as he ranted, "The mole rat men! They come up from the ground to steal the maidens and live in their fancy mud mansions! They-!"

"Tezca." I said slowly, "Tell me more about who took Soul's brother. When did you see them?"

Tezca rolled his eyes, as if I couldn't keep up with his factitious story, "They went into the office late one night! Then they came out with that white haired man!"

I ran a hand through my hair, contemplating what that might mean as Tezca continued his raving about mole rat men. The office? What would be in there?

"There!" Tezca said in a hushed whisper. He pointed towards the brahmin pen, eyes almost squeezed shut he was squinting so hard to see.

I looked where he was pointing and waited. I heard garbled yelling from far off, like it was coming from down the hill. My heart beat raced, and I reached down to put a hand on the pistol on my hip. I looked up towards the dinosaur to make sure Soul was watching in case anything showed up.

I cursed when I realized the house we were sitting by was behind the medical tent and downhill. Soul wouldn't be able to protect us from here. I kept my eyes steady on where Tezca was pointing, and my breath caught in my chest.

For only about 3 seconds, a figure appeared. Massive and a dark blue colored, it looked like a mutant body builder with a giant machine gun. It cried out and began desecrating one of the brahmin, before turning around and disappearing. I put a hand over my dropped jaw, and nearly gagged at the sight of the shredded brahmin.

Tezca at least had the sense to wait until whatever that thing was had walked back up the hill before he cried out, "I TOLD YOU! IT WAS A CHEWPACABRA!"

I was stunned and speechless for a minute. I stood up, shaking the dust off my pants. I glanced warily to where the creature had walked off to. I had no idea what it was, but it looked like it was going towards RepConn. I wanted to go after it, but there was no way I was prepared enough to fight one of those things on my own.

I couldn't believe that Tezca was right about the "chewpacabra".

If he was telling the truth about that, he might be right about the office holding some piece of the puzzle.

I waved at Tezca, who was rolling around on the ground, yelling gibberish, "Thanks for all your help, buddy."

He paused his spazaming for a moment to tip an invisible hat at me as I walked off. I reached the door to the office, and stood outside, not knowing exactly what to look for once I got inside. OX hovered over my shoulder, apparently ready to be my companion again now that Tezca and his insanity was gone.

I opened the door and stepped in very quietly, hoping no one was inside. I peered my head around, but it looked empty. I walked around, feeling a little lost. I came over to the desk, and noticed a safe stuck into the floor. I knelt down next to it, and felt my eyes roll back into my head as my vision blackened.

_"And this is how you crack a safe, asdfghjkl." I was small, I could tell. Maybe 7 years old. I knelt on the floor, much like the floor I was on now. There was light streaming in through windows all around me, but a shadow blocked most of the sun from my eyes. A man was kneeling next to me, pressing a few buttons on the safe. I can see him grinning as the safe popped open._

_He reached inside and pulled out a handful of caps, "See, this is how you get rich, dear. You don't let anyone get in your way. I raised you to be ruthless."_

_I can feel my younger self nod sharply, and grab a tiny fistfuls of the caps as well, jamming them into my pockets._

I groaned as I came back to the present, my head aching again. I scowled at the safe in front of me, wondering why something like this spurred on a flashback. I slammed my hand down on the floor, growling to myself. None of these flashbacks were helping me at all.

I reached toward the safe, contemplating if this would actually work. Maybe that flashback helped after all. I pressed a few buttons on the pad, the same ones the man from my flashback pressed, and the safe door opened.

I grinned, my eyes gleaming as I looked inside. There was a very big bag full of caps, but I pushed that aside, even if my subconscious was itching to grab it and run. I pulled out a piece of paper, reading it carefully.

"We, the representatives of the Consul Officiorum, have this day bargained and purchased from Eruka May Crawford of the township of Novac the exclusive rights to ownership and sale of the slave, Wes Evans, for the sum of one thousand bottle caps. We covenant with the said, Eruka May Crawford, that we have full power to bargain and sell said slave.

M. Scribonius Libo Drusus et al.

-Administrators of M. Licinius Crassus, Consul Officiorum ab Famulatus "

I gaped at the paper, horrified at what I was reading. Eruka had sold Wes to Asura's Legion as a slave. I put a hand over my mouth, shaking my head. That bitch was going to get what's coming to her. I grabbed the paper and stuffed it into my pocket. I was about to close the safe, but thought better of it and also grabbed the bag of coins.

She wouldn't be needing them, right?

I went and sat on the couch, knowing it wouldn't be long before Eruka came into the office. I dug the red bandanna out of my pocket, and placed it on my head.

It only took about an hour for Eruka to come into the office. "Oh dearie, what are you doing here? You have a room!"

I pushed a smile onto my face, and stood up, "I have to show you something out front. Do you mind walking with me?"

Eruka flicked a piece of hair out of her face, and nodded, "Sure!"

It was a short walk from the office to the front of the dinosaur, but it felt like ages. I felt horrible about having this seemingly nice woman slaughtered. But every time I felt bad, I remembered how Soul looked when he talked about his brother, and a flame of rage expanded in the pit of my stomach.

I slowed down as I walked in front of the mouth of the dinosaur. I couldn't look up. I didn't want to see his face when he saw who it was. A loud crack rang out in the silent desert, and I felt liquid spatter onto my boots. I turned to see Eruka's lifeless body fallen onto the ground.

I sighed and walked back towards the town. I had to go see him. As I was walking, I stopped dead in my tracks.

"Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit! If it isn't my old friend from Goodsprings!"

Patty was standing against the fence surrounding the town. I gaped at her, my mind frozen. "Uhm.. Hello, Patty. What are you doing here?"

A giggle was emitted from the robot, and she lifted a metal hand, "I just got the notion I should head up to New Vegas! I guess I'll figure it out when I get there!"

My heart started to beat at a normal pace again, and I raised an eyebrow, "What a coincidence we would run into each other."

Patty shrugged, giggling once again, "Well not really! Seeing as it's the only road up to New Vegas, it shouldn't be too big of a surprise if we run into each other from time to time!"

I nodded slowly, still trying to comprehend seeing the robot here. "Well.. I should really be getting going. It was good to see you, Patty."

She waved at me as she rolled off, "You too, pardner!"

I walked through the gate to the town, my confusion melting into sadness as I saw Soul. His head was low, and he had a pack over his shoulder.

"Soul.." I started, not exactly knowing what to say.

"How did you know it was her?"

I pulled out the paper from my pocket and handed it to him, "I found a bill of sale."

He scoffed, and I heard his voice catch, "Yeah, I'd keep a piece of paper like that, too." He pulled out a small bag and threw it at me. I weighed the bag in my hands, not feeling very comfortable taking his caps.

"What are you going to do now?"

He shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I don't know. Hunt down the Legion, I guess."

I put the bag in my pocket and shuffled my feet, "Are you.. Are you an outlaw now?"

He grunted a no, "People die out here enough. One more won't matter."

I took a step forward, reaching out my hand, "Come travel with me. We'll hunt down the Legion together."

He glared at my hand, "You don't want to travel with me. Trust me."

I shook my head, "I do. Don't snipers work in teams?" I paused for a moment, wondering where that piece of information came from. It seemed to work though, because Soul's lips pulled up into a small smile.

"You're not as efficient on your own. Alright, I'll go with you. But I don't think this will end well. Where are we headed?"

I grinned, patting him on the shoulder, "New Vegas is the destination. But we're heading to RepConn to rid this town of your commie ghost problem."

Soul looked wide eyed at me, his eyebrows raised. I chuckled, and walked towards my room to grab my bag, OX hovering over my shoulder as I pulled Soul by the hand.

**Authors note- It's going to get super exciting sooooooon! **


	10. RepConn

**Soul Eater: New Vegas**

**By Vivalarapture**

**Authors note- I've been watching so many SoMa amv's lately, it's not even funny. Obsessions are hard work. **

**Chapter 10, RepConn**

"Watch your step!" I reminded Soul, pointing at the railroad tracks. Soul flung his hands in the air, "Look out everybody! There's a railroad here! Girl says we have to watch our step! You better look out, OX!"

I rolled my eyes and smacked his arm as he walked by. I was just happy he had taken to my floating robot friend. I expected most people to turn and run at the story of how I acquired him, but Soul simply said, "That's cool." and dropped the subject. Ambivalence was something I could be happy about, considering I spent the last week in silence due to OX's lack of a voice box.

The RepConn Test Site was at the end of a one way road, secluded from the rest of the wasteland, surrounded by mountains. OX's constant hum distracted from the silence that enveloped our group. Other than the soft padding of our footsteps, we didn't talk. I wasn't exactly sure what to say to my new companion.

I glanced over at him, his wine colored eyes sharp and ever taking in the expanse of desert before us. He held a tight grip on his rifle, and I could tell he was nervous about leaving the town he has called home for so long now.

"Hey, Soul," His eyes flicked over to me, waiting for me to continue, "So if we have to go into RepConn, how are you going to fight with a sniper rifle? I was thinking maybe I could lend you my pistols."

He grimaced at my proposal, his lip curling up in discontent. "I guess you're right." I grinned and pulled the guns from my waistband, handing them to him. He took them begrudgingly, but I knew it was better than him not having a proper weapon for an enclosed space.

The path started winding into the mountains, with broken down cars littering the road. I stopped as I noticed a dead body in font of me. It was a dirt yellow colored skeleton looking creature. It seemed to glow, even in the bright sunlight, emitting a wafting stench that burned my eyes. I balked, nudging it with my boot. "What is this thing?" I asked, disgusted with what lay before me.

Soul raised an eyebrow at me as he continued walking. "Its a ghoul. One of the things we're going to kill." As he walked past me, he put a hand to his head and groaned,"Oh man. Its one of the glowing ones. Get away from that, quick. They emit radiation."

I quickly stepped away, but was still confused, "Glowing one? What do you mean?"

Soul stopped and turned around, looking at me, "Have you been living in one of those vaults all your life or something?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, shuffling my feet awkwardly, "Not exactly."

He put a hand up, his eyes squinted in disbelief, "So, where did you grow up? Why don't you know anything?"

I glared at him, a hand automatically moving to my hip. "That's not true at all!" I said, stomping my foot. "I know a lot of things. For one, I know I was shot in the head. And, two, I know who shot me. What else is there to know?"

Soul's jaw dropped as he stared at me. "Okay. I'm a little lost."

I sighed and continued walking, as to not deter our adventure by our conversation, "My name is Girl because I don't know who I was before. Before I got shot, that is. A few months ago I was shot in the head and I can't remember anything before that. That's all you need to know about me."

Soul shook his head, laughing, "I knew there was something a little off about you. That explains it."

I glared over at him, sticking my tongue out, "I could say the same about you."

I busted out laughing as he tripped over a crack in the road while trying to cross his eyes at me. I looked up, and my eyes widened. The road went under a tunnel and was covered in old equipment. It looked like an old NCR check point that had been abandoned.

Soul whistled and kicked at an empty ammunition case, "I wonder what happened here." He mused, digging around in another tool box. I shrugged, walking over to a table with a checkers set on it. I laughed, realizing that the checkers pieces were bottle caps.

I pulled my pack off and swept the caps off the table into my bag. Soul called out to me, "Hey! I found some ammo over here. Find anything?" I 'hmm'ed noncommittally, moving around items on a shelf to my left.

I noticed a few grenades lying behind a box and I grinned wildly, putting them in my pack as well. Soul walked up to me, shouldering the pack he had been putting ammo in, "Let's keep going, okay?"

I nodded, and patted OX on the head as he floated by. The robot wiggled in the air, almost like he was shaking off my touch. I giggled, and ran up to catch up with him.

The road curved out, and the mountains were clear on the horizon. It was actually very beautiful, and I was happy to see something pretty about the Wasteland. There was a huge raggedy old metal building at the bottom of the hill, with two pointed towers beside it. As we walked further down, I saw a big rocket statue at the bottom.

Soul grunted and kneeled down, pulling out his sniper rifle, "I hear something." He whispered, aiming his rifle down the hill. I watched him, intrigued, as he slowly inhaled and then held his breath as he waited for the enemy. My vision started to fade, and before I could call out, I fell to the ground. The last thing I heard was the crack of a hot being fired and a garbled call of my name.

_"Daddy, why do you breathe like that when you're shooting?" I felt a hand rest on my shoulder as the blurred figure of a man pushed a sniper rifle into my hand, "It makes aiming much easier. Here, why don't you try?" I felt my younger self freeze in fear. This was my father's gun, and I was told I was never to touch it._

_He laughed, and helped me hold the gun correctly. "It's okay, I promise. Someday you'll have to learn anyway." He scooted back to watch me, and his figure became clear for only a moment. A flash of red hair and green eyes that looked so much like mine. He was garbed in red, the armor across his chest glistened like it had been shined for hours. _

_I nodded, and inhaled just like he had taught me, waiting for the man in my sight to stop walking. As soon as the man slowed, I exhaled and pulled the trigger, lodging a bullet in the mans torso. _

_I squealed, and threw my arms around my father, "I did it!" He patted my head, his pride evident in my skill. "You sure did, sweetie."_

I grabbed my head as I came to, groaning at the weight of my eyes. I managed to pull my eyelids up, and was greeted with Soul's face not 2 inches from mine. I screeched and flung myself back, hitting my back on a particularly sharp rock. I hissed, putting a hand to my back and trying to get up.

Soul put a hand out to help me, and I took it, trying to get my vision back. He glared at me, his hands crossed in front of his chest, "What was that all about? You pass out and leave OX and me to deal with all those damn ghouls, WHILE trying to protect your sorry ass?"

I scowled right back at him, rubbing the sore spot on my back, "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't know it was going to happen."

I noticed a large gash across his forearm, and my anger was immediately drained, "Hey, are you okay?"

He flipped his hair out of his face, and grumbled, "I'm fine." I stepped forward, pulling a Stimpack from my pack, "I don't have too many more of these, but that looks gnarly."

I pulled off the cap and handed it to him, digging around in my pack for some gauze. He took them both and thanked me, sighing in relief when the Stimpack started to do its work.

I smiled, and looked around, seeing five or six ghoul bodies on the ground. I chuckled sheepishly and started walking forward, "I'm glad to know I can trust you when I fall out like that. Thanks. I'll try my best to let out a cry, or something, when I start to feel faint."

Soul grunted, ruffling my hair, "It's fine. Does this happen often?"

I shrugged, being careful to watch my step as we walked down the hill, "Not really. Side effect of the head wound I guess."

I wasn't ready to explain that I was having blurred flashbacks about my past to him. I barely knew him, but it somehow felt wrong to be keeping it from him. I shook my head quickly, ignoring an odd stare from Soul. I wasn't going to tell him. We were traveling together, that's all. I didn't need anyone else getting close to me.

I wiped my thoughts, and shuffled down the hill towards RepConn. "Slow down!" Soul yelled as quietly as he could. "You're gonna get us killed if you approach with that shit!" I turned around as he shoved me against the wall. "Here's the thing: You need to stop thinking like a front line soldier, and start thinking like a sniper. We can't go barreling into a hostile zone like what you just did," my eyes were widening every second, filled with enlightenment. "We need to identify how many enemies there are, who we can kill quietly, and when we should switch to the assault rifles, pistols, et cetera. Do you get it?"

I cleared my throat, "I'm... I'm sorry. Thanks for the insight. I'll follow your lead from now on." With that, I realized I wasn't traveling alone anymore. I needed to think first, act later. Soul took his hand off my shoulder, "Also, I need you to do something for me," I nodded. "During my NCR days, we conducted research on any mechanics and materials we could get our hands on, by that, I mean we had to steal shit. Your buddy, OX, was one of them. He's an EyeBot, used by the Enclave to broadcast propaganda around the East coast. Although, this model looks like it was altered by someone. I won't be able to tell who, but my point is, usually these robots come with a Passive Mode."

I reached my arm behind my back to feel my recent wound, "Passive Mode?" He laughed, still not able to fully understand my head injury. "Each robot comes with two modes: Passive and Aggressive. He's obviously set on Aggressive Mode, meaning he'll attack anything hostile on sight-" "Isn't that a good thing?" I interrupted, accidentally testing his knowledge. "It's a good thing for the front lines of war, but for us snipers, that's a very bad thing. If we're going to approach to an area, and have an edge on the enemy, we need to..." He held his hand out to me, looking for an answer. "scope out the area," I finished. He smiled and nodded. "And for that, we need to set him on Passive Mode. So, he'll only attack enemies we want him to. Is that alright?"

I glanced over at OX, humming to himself. "Yeah, that should be fine..." I became nervous as Soul opened OX's back panel. He flipped a switch, and OX's antenna's twitched, and seemed to relax back, less alert it would seem. "If you ever feel you need to switch him back, which I wouldn't recommend, there's a switch, with others, on the back here."

He waved me over, and I viewed the open panel on the back of OX. There were three switches and a bright green button. He points at the first switch, "This is for what I just did, Passive And Aggressive Mode. Right for Aggressive, Left for Passive. The second is for how close or how far he'll follow you. Right now, he's close, which is fine. The third switch is for waiting. You can set him to wait in certain place, and he won't move until you activate him again. He'll still be armed, so he can continue protecting himself. Im guessing you didn't find a remote with him, did you?"

I shook my head. "Alright, we'll make do with what we have," I raised my hand. "Uhh, yeah?" He asked, giving me an odd look. "What's the button for?" He chuckled, "I was getting to that." He pushed the button, and a compartment slid down on the bottom of OX. "This is a storage compartment; a place to hold your caps, small weapons, or anything else you can't seem to hold."

"Alright, are you ready to do this the right way?" I scoffed, and felt my jaw drop, but then retracted it. As much as it killed me to not be the leader for once, I decided to listen, as this was the best option for the time being. I nodded, "Yeah, take the lead."

Approaching the RepConn building, Soul flagged me over behind a road block. "Okay, so check the area out. Tell me how many you see." I squinted my eyes. A roundabout circled the rocket statue, with two staircases leading up to the building. There were three ghouls roaming the street. "Three!" I exclaimed, probably louder than I should've.

He quickly placed his hand on the top of my head, and shoved me below the roadblock. "Okay, besides the fact you might've blown our cover, you missed four." He slowly lifted his head above the cement roadblock, and waved me up. "Look again. There may be three on the road, but look on top of the staircases, two more. And one behind the car over there," he pointed to a car a few yards away from the roundabout. A ghoul stood next to the hood of the car. "You said there were four I missed? You only called out three." He turned his head towards me, "Find the last."

I scanned the area for the missing ghoul. The road has three, plus the two above the staircases, plus the one behind the car. As hard as I tried, I couldn't seem to find the last one. As I'm about to admit defeat, the top of a head appeared behind another car on the left of the roundabout. "There!" I yelled, quickly covering my mouth. All the ghouls in the area shifted their heads in my direction. "Shit!" Soul shouted, sniper in hand. Before I could say another word, a piercing blast from Soul's sniper rifle, followed by a loud, and bright, explosion from a car erupted in the distance. Two flaming ghouls flew a few feet through the air, and fell to their demise.

A couple flashes of red passed by my face, turning a ghoul to ash. I felt the heat from OX's lasers on my cheek. "Shit, OX!" I reached for my rifle as Soul fired a few more shots. I became ready and aimed, and searched for the next enemy. No more shots were fired from my allies, and I realized that they've taken everybody out. "Fuck!" I yelled out. "Huh? What happened?! You hurt?" Soul gave me a frightened look. "Nah.. I.. I just wanted to at least take out one of them."

I searched through the ghouls' shredded pants pockets, cringing at the sight and smell of decay on their rotting bodies. The corpses were sparse with supplies; some with nothing at all, and others with two or three bottle caps left on their person. None of them seemed to have stimpacks, but I guess I wasn't expecting them to, or else they'd still be alive.

We approached the stairs, "Eyes open," Soul said, "Anything in the area will be approaching with the ruckus we just made." Creeping up the stairs, there wasn't a sound other than OX's hum, and occasional beeps. As we stepped on the last step at the top of the staircase, more bodies littered the entrance of RepConn. I approached one of the bodies wearing a tinted green and brown robe. The high collared robe had a silver pin near the neck, and was split at the waist, with trousers underneath.

"What is this?" I said, staring at this demented-looking human. It didn't have the same look as the other ghouls, which had barely any muscle tone with rotting brown bodies. "That's a ghoul," he said, baffled by my question. "Yeah, but this one looks different than the others we just killed. And why is it wearing this robe?" Soul stared at the off blue tinted corpse on the ground. "Not too sure what's with the robe, maybe a cult thing or something'," He glanced down the stairs, "But, those things down there aren't technically ghouls. They're feral ghouls, like zombies." I scratched my head, and gave a distraught look back at him.

"I keep forgetting you don't know much." He chuckled, "Okay, so basically, there are ghouls and feral ghouls. Feral ghouls have no thoughts. All they are and ever will be are carnivorous animals, and will hunt anything that moves. Ghouls, on the other hand, are, more or less, just like us. They think, walk, and can conversate like normal humans. The main difference about them is that the radiation destroyed them slowly, eating at their bodies, and discoloring their flesh.

The 'ghoul' lying before me did not have a nose, instead just shredded skin. The eyes were discolored and tinted white. Skin was hanging off various parts of the body, showing the veins and muscles beneath it. "So, what? These were humans before?" I raised an eyebrow. "Exactly. These were the poor souls that didn't make it in the vaults before the nukes went off, and The Great War started. Now, let's keep moving. We have a job to do." I stared at the lifeless, shredded body for a few more seconds, and turned my view to the entrance of the building.

Approaching the door, Soul reminded me, "Alright, so now that we're entering an enclosed space, we can do what you usually do: Shoot first, ask questions later." I giggled, shaking my head, and placed one hand on the door handle, and another on my pistol.

Pushing the door open slowly, I noticed a desk in front of me, with a clipboard and a terminal placed on top. The building had the usual state of decay as the rest of the wasteland. A ten-foot rocket was hanging from the ceiling. The ceiling, ironically, looked like the floor of the moon, but I knew it was only because of it falling apart, with pieces scattered across the floor.

Suddenly, a voice from an intercom on the wall, covered in blood, began speaking, "Hey! Can you hear me? I need you to take the big metal staircase at the east end of the building up! And, hurry!" Soul lowered his rifle after he realized it was just a box talking to us. "Who are you?" I asked, approaching the box. "Who I am doesn't matter, smoothskin. Stop wasting time and get up here!" As I'm about to ask another question, Soul interrupts, "Got it."

I looked over at him, raising my arms, "What the hell?" He shrugged, and raised his rifle as we heard footstep clattering on the floors from the multiple doorways to the entry room we stood in. I stepped back, stumbling over an unknown presence. Rapidly spinning around, a yelp escaped from my mouth. "What the fuck is that?!" I screamed, staring at a nine-foot tall blue muscled beast lying on the ground beside me. "No time!" Soul replied, as he reached for my hand on my pistol, and placed it in a readied position for me. Feral ghouls poured into the room, "We got shit to take care of," He said.

**Authors note- My room mate/beta reader wrote a lot of this chapter, so he gets credit for the thug-ness of explaining this last bit. We have a very similar style for writing, so I figured it flowed together pretty well. **


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